Comments on: ‘Sita’ sings the copyright blues

By: Larisa

Larisa — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:58:35 +0000

This is infuriating, and stories like this need to be told to everyone who thinks that copyright law “protects the artist”. What copyright law actually does – as it did here – is clamp down on freedom of expression and lock us out of our cultural heritage.

Nina, if you’re looking for a new movie subject – can you make one about copyright abuse?

By: Court

Court — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 01:38:11 +0000

Thanks for posting on this, Chris. Those Annette Hanshaw songs are wonderful, as is the movie itself. Very fine work, and I hope Nina Paley is well-rewarded for her work, and that we can look forward to more of it in the future.

Good luck with your surgery, Chris.

By: Michael Pastore

Michael Pastore — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:55:23 +0000

This looks wonderful — thanks, Chris.

And Good Luck with surgery: we’ll look forward to your healthy return.

By: Nina Paley

Nina Paley — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:45:47 +0000

Thanks Chris!

To clarify: the copyrights on the recordings were never renewed, meaning they’re not protected by Federal copyright. But that doesn’t mean they not “protected” – many recordings fall under obscure state laws that pre-date (and for inexplicable reasons are allowed to supercede) federal law. This means it may still be illegal to distribute the recordings in New York State without permission. Unless you’re a PBS affiliate like Channel 13, which aired it in New York City.