Tim Wu on why “Escape from Tomorrow,” an indie film shot entirely inside Disney World, is not a violation of fair use law: http://nyr.kr/dfaDes

The case would depend on the appearance of Disney’s trademarks or copyrighted works in the background of the film, like when Goofy wanders by or when we see the waving robots in “It’s a Small World.” Filming these works without justification would be an infringement of the copyright law. The question is whether they are “fair use”—or in other words, whether technical infringements are negated because they are justified by public policy.

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“Escape from Tomorrow” ultimately raises a larger question of what you might call cultural freedom, or the freedom to comment on or reimagine the great cultural icons of our time. It’s the same question raised by fan fiction and remix artists like Jeff Koons. Disney would surely have preferred that Moore and his team have asked for permission before making the film. But it seems unlikely to have been granted: and a world where Disney gets to determine everything said about Disney World would be a poor place indeed.

Cartoon of the day. For more from this week’s issue: http://nyr.kr/J6b7Re

(Source: newyorker.com)

Cartoon of the day. For more: http://nyr.kr/w9bgls

(Source: newyorker.com)

A Lee Lorenz cartoon from 1994.