Fox + Simpsons + Lawrence Lessig

How much do you think it costs to show a clip of the Simpsons?

For less than five seconds and only in the background of a shot?

This would be at the educational rate and so cheaper than normal.

$1? $10? £25? A fantastic $100?

Well, in at lest one documented instance, as noted by Lessig (2005, p96) Fox wanted to charge $10,000 for the use of a clip under five seconds in length, in the background of a shot, as part of a documentary. As Homer might say "Doh!" or maybe that should be "Dough!"? Earning an honest crust from work for which you have the copyright is one thing but this level of charging is simply ludicrous. How on earth can media companies hope to endow the next generation of media consumers (the generation of young people growing up with digital technology/copying capabilities) with some respect for copyright if companies are going to behave like this?

Reference

Lessig, L., 2005. Free Culture. New York. Penguin.