The Legality of Creating Big Movie Knock Offs
Knock offs are nothing new in the fashion world and frankly not in the film world either. For almost the entire glorious history of cinema, smaller, less artistically ambitious B films have thrilled those in need of constant stimulation. So outside of porn B-films are one of the prime time killers for those long on aimless and short on taste.
And the Global Asylum, Inc. (popularly known as The Asylum) does for movies what Chinatown does for Kate Spade…it’s rips it the hell off. But there has to be some appreciation for their sophisticated approach to a curious intersection of art and the law. First off, one should know that most fashion items are not protected by copyright, yet films are. So then how does Asylum get away making a film called “the Terminators,” which tells the story of a resistance movement that battles a horde of evil machines built by the military to protect mankind but gone horribly astray (timed for release around Terminator-Salvation)? Oh yeah and their bold knock off of Cloverfield, Monster. These prolific purveyors of purloined plot lines, promotion campaigns, and product packaging have honed their product pipeline to coincide with the release of big banner tent pole studio productions. And in the process they have skillfully gamed one of the major (albeit logical) blind spots in copyright law: the idea/expression dichotomy.
Copyright, put simply, does not protect ideas. Rather it protects the "expression" of an idea. What this means is that while three different people might have the same idea, which they could all run with, their unique expression of that idea could result in three separate and unique copyrights. That might get some to scratching their heads. But let’s think of three people painting the same still life scene of an apple and grapes in a plate. All three of them will have the same combination of fundamental elements: an apple, grapes, and a plate. However, they may all be painting the scene from different vantage points. They may all use a different color palette; some may choose a realist approach, while some may go for something cubist. The point is that while the basic idea of the scene is the same between artists, the expression of that scene is different.
The same basic framework can be applied to film. So for example, imagine the basic idea being a great space war involving a rebel alliance versus a galactic empire. There are myriad ways of expressing that idea. But, the minute one of those expressions calls for a religious order of knights called the “Jedi” with a particularly gifted one being named Luke Skywalker, well then you’re likely infringing upon the galaxy of Star Wars copyrights.
This brings us back to cinephiles at Asylum. While their love of film cannot be denied (nor confirmed) they are not really violating copyright law at all. For example, The Terminators seizes on the *idea* of a human resistance battling a horde of killer machines. Moreover, little tip for aspiring Kubricks, you cannot copyright a title. Hence the title “The Terminators” is perfectly fair game too. That’s a far cry from a savior machine played by Arnold Schwarzenegger coming from the future to protect John Connor, savior of humanity. Again, the idea and the expression are different enough to escape infringement, even though Asylum’s release is calculated to piggyback on the release of its Big Studio kissing cousin.
That’s just the way it is. But look at it this way: can you possibly measure sthe fun you will have on bad movie with your friends, taking in the poignant power of The Terminators with your friends.
And the Global Asylum, Inc. (popularly known as The Asylum) does for movies what Chinatown does for Kate Spade…it’s rips it the hell off. But there has to be some appreciation for their sophisticated approach to a curious intersection of art and the law. First off, one should know that most fashion items are not protected by copyright, yet films are. So then how does Asylum get away making a film called “the Terminators,” which tells the story of a resistance movement that battles a horde of evil machines built by the military to protect mankind but gone horribly astray (timed for release around Terminator-Salvation)? Oh yeah and their bold knock off of Cloverfield, Monster. These prolific purveyors of purloined plot lines, promotion campaigns, and product packaging have honed their product pipeline to coincide with the release of big banner tent pole studio productions. And in the process they have skillfully gamed one of the major (albeit logical) blind spots in copyright law: the idea/expression dichotomy.
Copyright, put simply, does not protect ideas. Rather it protects the "expression" of an idea. What this means is that while three different people might have the same idea, which they could all run with, their unique expression of that idea could result in three separate and unique copyrights. That might get some to scratching their heads. But let’s think of three people painting the same still life scene of an apple and grapes in a plate. All three of them will have the same combination of fundamental elements: an apple, grapes, and a plate. However, they may all be painting the scene from different vantage points. They may all use a different color palette; some may choose a realist approach, while some may go for something cubist. The point is that while the basic idea of the scene is the same between artists, the expression of that scene is different.
The same basic framework can be applied to film. So for example, imagine the basic idea being a great space war involving a rebel alliance versus a galactic empire. There are myriad ways of expressing that idea. But, the minute one of those expressions calls for a religious order of knights called the “Jedi” with a particularly gifted one being named Luke Skywalker, well then you’re likely infringing upon the galaxy of Star Wars copyrights.
This brings us back to cinephiles at Asylum. While their love of film cannot be denied (nor confirmed) they are not really violating copyright law at all. For example, The Terminators seizes on the *idea* of a human resistance battling a horde of killer machines. Moreover, little tip for aspiring Kubricks, you cannot copyright a title. Hence the title “The Terminators” is perfectly fair game too. That’s a far cry from a savior machine played by Arnold Schwarzenegger coming from the future to protect John Connor, savior of humanity. Again, the idea and the expression are different enough to escape infringement, even though Asylum’s release is calculated to piggyback on the release of its Big Studio kissing cousin.
That’s just the way it is. But look at it this way: can you possibly measure sthe fun you will have on bad movie with your friends, taking in the poignant power of The Terminators with your friends.
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