Getting Fired for Sharing the Public Domain
Metroland Online in Albany explains:
Master of Whose Domain? WRPI radio host falls prey to copyright hysteria—without ever violating the lawDennis Karius, a former host of The Portside on WRPI public radio, recently found out just what sort of a climate of fear the recent media and legal attention to copyright violations has spawned. Earlier this year, he lost his radio show as a result of airing audio that he recorded off his television from C-SPAN.
The WRPI Executive Committee, which does much of the decision making for WRPI, heard from someone (not C-SPAN) who heard Karius’ Jan.19 show, saying that he improperly used material from C-SPAN. At a meeting of the E-Comm about a week later, the committee voted for his permanent removal as a result of “gross violation of federal copyright law and consequently WRPI’s policy.”
On Feb. 1, Karius was informed of E-Comm’s decision via an e-mail message from the president of WRPI, Jeremy Kaufman. Kaufman made it clear that Karius was physically banned from the WRPI station and that neither the cancellation of The Portside nor his banishment would be under review. Karius would be allowed to explain his actions after the fact, but did not get a chance to present a defense before his removal. Until the day he was informed, he did not realize that any problem had arisen.
Immediately, Karius began contacting his scheduled guests. Then he set to researching copyright law. He is convinced he did not commit any offense by airing the excerpt. National copyright experts, and even C-SPAN’s own policies, say the same.
Anything with a government representative speaking is considered public domain, especially anything that comes from the Congressional press gallery. Since the audio Karius used was a clip of Condoleeza Rice’s nomination questioning, featuring Senator Barbara Boxer of California, it was public domain. Public domain refers to something that lacks copyright or patent, and can be used by anyone however they wish.
Taxpayers pay for the House and Senate to be wired. The audio is sent to a radio-television gallery, where it is available for the press to record and transmit. The process is coordinated so that the members of the press may plug into this audio and essentially share the same information, thus keeping the floors of Congress open to the people. Journalists, radio hosts, even academics, often use public-domain material in their work.
“There’s a big difference between airing the words of our members of congress and airing, say, a Michael Jackson concert at Pepsi arena,” Karius said. Rice’s speech on the floor of the House and Senate is in essence owned by the people.
C-SPAN does not dispute this. “The audio of the House and Senate is obtained from the House and Senate. We do not make a copyright claim on this audio,” C-SPAN representatives said in an e-mail message to Metroland. What is protected is their process of distributing. “C-SPAN’s transmission of this signal is protected by law and cannot be intercepted for the purposes of retransmission.”
Siva Vaidhyanathan, assistant professor of Culture and Communication at New York University and author of Copyrights and Copywrongs, also said there is no problem with recording the audio and airing it. “The legal restriction has to do with stealing cable service—tapping into a direct stream,” said Vaidhyanathan. “It’s a very different restriction than copyright.”
As long as the material Karius recorded and aired is within the public domain, he is free to use it as a radio host. “He did what any citizen can and may do. C-SPAN is our only source of the sounds of Congress, so we should feel free to use it for reporting and commentary,” Vaidhyanathan said.
E-Comm claimed at the time that Karius used the C-SPAN webstream to air the audio. When asked to comment later, Kaufman said he thought it may have been recorded from television, but he couldn’t be sure. Karius was never given a chance to tell E-Comm where the material came from, something he said he’d have been happy to do.
On March 15, the New York Civil Liberties Union Capital Region Chapter sent a letter to the president of RPI, Shirley Ann Jackson, with a copy sent to WRPI, with its concerns about Karius’ lack of due process in the matter. Though RPI is a private institution and WRPI has the right to cancel Karius’ show at any time, the NYCLU would like the school to show the same respect to its radio hosts that an individual would receive under the laws of this country. As executive director Melanie Trimble stated, “[Karius’ removal] lacked any procedural due process, which an educational institute should certainly zealously safeguard.”
President Jackson is currently out of the country leading a delegation to Asia, and has not yet responded to the letter.
Much of the WRPI Executive Committee is composed of RPI students who are not necessarily experts in the field of Federal Copyright Law. Indeed, Kaufman seemed confused about what was specifically violated and how, but said, “It is our interpretation, as well as the interpretation of RPI’s legal counsel and a lawyer specializing in communication, that the material aired by Dennis was a violation of C-SPAN’s intellectual property rights even though we are a public radio station.”
Karius said he understands why E-Comm was hypervigiliant. He said he did not want to damage WRPI’s reputation, and is still a supporter of the station. In Karius’ opinion, the reaction to his show was perhaps caused by the ever-increasing sensitivity of information and copyright issues. “I feel they overreacted, but I don’t fault these students. E-Comm reacted like any board of trustees who were just entrusted with a precious institution,” said Karius.
Karius isn’t just going to let the issue drop, however. He sought advice from an attorney with the National Lawyer’s Guild who, like Vaidhyanathan—and C-SPAN—disputes WRPI’s legal claims. He said it’s less about getting his show back, and more about pointing out the climate of paranoia these issues can create.
The value of public speech on our airwaves and the importance of keeping our government branches in check can’t be overlooked, said Karius. He said that since most Americans cannot listen to all of C-SPAN’s “gavel to gavel” coverage, someone has to pick out and present to people important segments of interest. Being able to make people aware of what the government is up to by means of media is a constitutional right, said Karius, and he doesn’t want to see it dissolve. “I think I can do more good by empowering others to do what I did.”
—Kevin Abbott
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