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Captain Awesomepants ([info]bobafeis) wrote in [info]fandom_wank,
@ 2009-11-20 02:44:00


Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:fandom_wank's thoughts on yaoi, goddammit you guys be funnier!, plagiarism

We don't actually know if this is plagiarism wank, unless someone out there is an internets lawyer
Here's some Project Runway plagiarism wank to go with the lovely vanity pub and author wank. I hope it goes without saying that there might be a spoiler or two for the finale, but I'll say it anyway: There are spoilers for the finale in this post.

Project Runway "villain" and finalist Irina had a shirt in her final Bryant Park collection that has all the reasons she loves New York written on it. Oh, wait. Those aren't the reasons she loves New York, those are the reasons that someone who wrote a famous New York Magazine article loves New York. And this is the same girl who was going to feature Coney Conney Island artwork in the collection until she was told that it would be copyright infringement? And NY Mag says that she didn't ask permission? And I don't even have to tell you that this isn't going to end well, do I?

And then she won, with the judges praising the idea of the text on her shirt in particular. Needless to say the wankers come in and do their little turns on the Project Rungay catwalk:

- "OMG plagiarist h0r!" [1, 2, 3, 4]

- "The judges and the show are all failtastic because the judges didn't recognize the quotes!" [5]

- "We don't know that she actually claimed these words as hers! The producers could have just edited it to look like she did!" [6]

- "So what if she plagiarized? Who else would you want to win? Loser McLoserton or Failtasia of Failville? They both sucked!" (Now with bonus Snacky's law innvocation!) [7]

- "She just stole the words, it's not like she stole someone's fashion design!" [8]

- "We don't know... if it's plagiarism, unless somebody out there is a copyright attorney." [9] (Yes, that is the actual quote.)

- "I'm taking a leap of faith in assuming plagiarism occurred. Also, this other girl totally copied too, since she also made baggy sweaters and outfits with sashes." [10]

- "Everyone who's upset is just a dilettante who cares watches the show for the drama, not the fashion." [11]

And this is less than twelve hours after the finale aired. I'm sure there is a lot more to come.



(Post a new comment)


[info]happyville
2009-11-20 02:01 pm UTC (link)
Even if it's not technically copyright infringement (I think it is, but I'm no internetz lawyer) - that's still incredibly tacky imo.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]kefanii
2009-11-20 02:52 pm UTC (link)
What's even tackier is Irina regularly accused Althea, the other finalist, of ripping off her OMG GIANT SWEATERZ designs.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]eleutheria, 2009-11-21 05:12 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]alienist, 2009-11-22 08:07 am UTC

[info]lady_ganesh
2009-11-20 03:56 pm UTC (link)
Tacky was this season's theme.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]hallidae, 2009-11-20 06:17 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]brennalarose, 2009-11-20 08:10 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]edelweiss, 2009-11-20 09:21 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]miraba, 2009-11-20 09:38 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]edelweiss, 2009-11-20 09:52 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]miraba, 2009-11-20 11:22 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]hallidae, 2009-11-21 08:51 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]miraba, 2009-11-21 09:30 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]lady_ganesh, 2009-11-20 10:19 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]miraba, 2009-11-20 11:19 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]madelfdisease, 2009-11-21 02:57 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]miraba, 2009-11-21 04:18 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]eleutheria, 2009-11-21 05:14 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]miraba, 2009-11-21 06:26 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]sockpuppeteer, 2009-11-20 09:57 pm UTC

[info]miss_eponine
2009-11-20 03:02 pm UTC (link)
Ugh. She won? This season really sucked. I hope next season is better.

And when will people stop excusing plagiarists? Maybe putting the text on the shirts was fair use, but she still took it without asking permission.

(Reply to this)


[info]scifantasy
2009-11-20 03:18 pm UTC (link)
Disclaimer: I am a law student. I am not a lawyer in any jurisdiction (yet). Nothing I say here should be taken as legal advice.

That said, I am a law student planning to specialize in intellectual property, so.

Assuming arguendo that New York owns a valid copyright in the original article (which is likely, but let's go through the motions here), it can clearly show copying of the words in large chunks, an infringement of either the reproduction right or the derivative works right depending on how you define it. (Probably derivative works.)

So the question would turn on whether Irina had a defense.

The only defense that comes to mind is the classic--fair use. (Which does not require asking permission or any other contact with the copyright owner. If it did that would undermine the defense.)

The copyright statute lays out four archetypal factors for determining whether a use is fair:
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.


Let's go through them:
1) Purpose and character: favors the magazine. Irina's creation is not news reporting, criticism, or educational in nature. As well, it is probably commercial in nature (though that would be a tricky question in this case, a court would probably find that the underlying commercial nature of the whole show makes the shirt commercial).
2) Nature of copyrighted work: favors the magazine. It's not as if they were collecting raw facts; this was a creative work entitled to strong copyright protection.
3) Amount and substantiality used: favors the magazine. The magazine claims Irina took the whole article. It certainly took a fair amount of it.
4) Effect on the market: I'm not sure. On the one hand, I don't think someone who wanted to read the article would buy a shirt instead. On the other, the magazine probably often licenses its work for derivative works, and widespread copying like this would destroy that derivative works market. But at the same time, this is a one-off shirt for a televised competition, not something that's going to be sold in stores. It might well increase the market for the article as people decide to find the source of what was on the shirt.

The fourth factor is the most critical; cases rise and fall by it.

In this case a court would probably find infringement, but I see a way or two that Irina could claim fair use and make it stick. I think it unlikely, though.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]scifantasy
2009-11-20 03:28 pm UTC (link)
Addendum: I should point out that separate from the legal issue of infringement is the question of how the show will react. As we can see from the Coney Island trademark imagery, and as I can report from personal experience, reality TV shows are pretty careful about not stepping on intellectual property toes. Even if they thought they had a fair use defense, they often might prefer to dodge the issue and change the design.

(Seriously--when I was going to sing about thirty seconds of a song written by two people I knew personally, I still had to sell the producers pretty damn hard. Thankfully, I was able to convince the producers that the writers would grant a license. More thankfully, they did.)

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]wanktastic
2009-11-20 03:55 pm UTC (link)
Fascinating. And what are your thoughts on yaoi?

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]scifantasy, 2009-11-20 03:56 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ghostmaster, 2009-11-20 04:06 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]oceanica, 2009-11-20 05:45 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ghostmaster, 2009-11-20 07:47 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]influencethis, 2009-11-20 08:57 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]dragonfangirl, 2009-11-22 07:31 am UTC

[info]veleda_k
2009-11-20 05:16 pm UTC (link)
I imagine that the proper response to this "And what are you're thoughts on yaoi?" or "tl;dr." However, my response is more like "Oh, how interesting."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]scifantasy, 2009-11-20 05:27 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]oceanica, 2009-11-20 05:46 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]msilverstar, 2009-11-20 06:14 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]tez, 2009-11-20 07:37 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]sgaana, 2009-11-21 12:00 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]scifantasy, 2009-11-21 12:06 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]eleutheria, 2009-11-21 05:20 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]scifantasy, 2009-11-21 05:29 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]eleutheria, 2009-11-24 07:30 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]scifantasy, 2009-11-24 02:13 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]synergasm, 2009-11-21 12:10 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]oceanica, 2009-11-23 04:14 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]eleutheria, 2009-11-21 05:18 am UTC

[info]kalakagatha
2009-11-20 03:27 pm UTC (link)
I rewatched the first half of the finale last night before the second half aired (there was nothing else on; PR really has sucked this season) and Irina distinctly said something about writing down "my thoughts about NYC." I'm not sure about the legality of what she did (and NY Magazine doesn't seem about to press charges or anything), but it was definitely tacky and IMO unethical. Her whole point was supposed to be about how much she loved NYC, and the collection was about city women wearing their armor...and she couldn't come up with a list of her own reasons for loving the city?

(Reply to this)


[info]lady_ganesh
2009-11-20 03:58 pm UTC (link)
Imagine how much wankier it'd be if anyone had actually watched PR this year!

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]ahiru, 2009-11-20 04:35 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]lady_ganesh, 2009-11-20 04:42 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]mochibuni, 2009-11-21 05:09 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]wallflower, 2009-11-20 05:04 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]edelweiss, 2009-11-20 09:26 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]annaham, 2009-11-20 11:36 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]brennalarose, 2009-11-20 08:15 pm UTC
(no subject) - mockygogo, 2009-11-20 09:33 pm UTC

[info]fencer_x
2009-11-20 04:56 pm UTC (link)
Ugh. I only like being spoiled when the people I LIKE win :( I liked most of Irina's garments, but her attitude was poo poo.

I'm just glad it's going back to NY with Michael and Nina there full time next season. Maybe there will be less stink then. Or at least more snarky commentary.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]tez, 2009-11-20 07:35 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]lady_ganesh, 2009-11-20 08:13 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]tez, 2009-11-20 08:22 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ru_debega, 2009-11-21 12:53 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]tez, 2009-11-21 02:05 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]aviatrix, 2009-11-21 02:54 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]miraba, 2009-11-21 04:20 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]fencer_x, 2009-11-21 04:53 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]tez, 2009-11-21 05:01 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]brennalarose, 2009-11-20 08:16 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]fencer_x, 2009-11-21 04:53 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]brennalarose, 2009-11-21 08:31 pm UTC

[info]tez
2009-11-20 07:40 pm UTC (link)
My bleh feelings on this entire season might well be offset if someone legally nails Irina to the wall for plagiarism. I'd laugh. Hard.

And then I'd hope that next season has some redeeming qualities that have to do with the actual content of the show and not one bitch contestant flipping legality the bird.

(Reply to this)


[info]also_not_a_pipe
2009-11-20 07:57 pm UTC (link)
That's not the only thing she's ripping off. The phrase that came to my mind when I looked at the photos at the second link was something like "I am plagiarism. I am ridiculous design. I... am... Batshit!"

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]brennalarose, 2009-11-20 08:19 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]aviatrix, 2009-11-20 08:53 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]brennalarose, 2009-11-21 02:21 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]riah_chan, 2009-11-21 07:22 am UTC

[info]miraba
2009-11-20 08:37 pm UTC (link)
I am so glad there will finally be real drama this season. It was sadly lacking. :(

(Reply to this)


[info]tangentialone
2009-11-20 10:02 pm UTC (link)
Plagiarism wank is the best wank.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]daisymay79, 2009-11-20 11:07 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]hallidae, 2009-11-21 08:54 am UTC

[info]ru_debega
2009-11-21 12:56 am UTC (link)
I actually remember her saying that it was a list of reasons SHE loved NY, but I could be wrong. I'd re-watch my DVRed episodes but I find that I just don't care that much about this season. I am pretending it didn't happen at all, except for the bits with Tim, because Tim is lovely.

(Reply to this)


[info]karaz
2009-11-21 01:09 am UTC (link)
This comment was interesting (http://projectrungay.blogspot.com/2009/11/controversy-spoilerish.html?commentPage=3):

"If anyone watched Project Runway Canada Season 2 - She also ripped off the winner's final collection - especially the hats and the general concept of armor. I don't even need to to point out the irony of her idea-stealing accusations."

I haven't seen PR Canada - has anyone else who could agree/disagree?

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]hysteria, 2009-11-21 01:43 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]hysteria, 2009-11-21 01:44 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]wallflower, 2009-11-21 10:50 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]miraba, 2009-11-21 08:15 pm UTC

[info]magnetic_regina
2009-11-21 01:44 am UTC (link)
I think she should get nailed for stealing Catwoman's hat.

I LOLed.

(Reply to this)


[info]frequentmouse
2009-11-21 03:22 am UTC (link)
"We've just found our new company softball shirt."

That said: How did Althea beat Carol Hannah? Ok, yeah, "consistent look" but it was consistently crap, and she needs to take sewing and anatomy classes before she's ready to dress humans.

*mutters* puckers

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]aviatrix, 2009-11-21 04:40 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]weyrlady, 2009-11-23 01:17 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]riah_chan, 2009-11-21 07:24 am UTC

[info]theelusiven
2009-11-21 03:38 am UTC (link)
I didn't think anyone could ever make me wish for the days of Wendy Pepper and Kenley.

Hot damn, was I wrong.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]amadi, 2009-11-21 11:25 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]theelusiven, 2009-11-21 05:29 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]amadi, 2009-11-21 10:15 pm UTC

[info]herongale
2009-11-21 09:58 am UTC (link)
Irina was not my favourite of this season's contestants, but she did produce beautiful clothes. Whether they should have been the winning collection is a very debatable point (I would have went with Carol Hannah's, I think), but to call this plagiarism? Bah. Just because she is a hypocrite that doesn't make her a plagiarist.

Those shirts were not to be made available for commercial purchase, and the words themselves were practically irrelevant, because from the runway they could not be read. The point was design, not literary content, and the design was uniquely Irina's own.

(Reply to this)


[info]wallflower
2009-11-21 10:24 am UTC (link)
T Lo at Project Rungay posted an interview with Irina here.

The relevant part:

Now for your new idea you did use lines from the NY magazine article “Reasons to Love NY 2008.” Wouldn’t that be copyright infringement as well?
Yes, I did use them, but those were actually from - the funny thing is when I was working on it, I said, "Wow, this is serendipity." I got that article and it wasn’t like one author. They interviewed random New Yorkers; a chef, a messenger…you know, like people you see every day in New York City and they said their favorite things about New York. I did include one of my own lines, which was “Because it loves me back.” I thought what better than just sort of throw all that in there because this is New York, all these different opinions. Everyone experiences the city so differently.

We think the issue with our readers, and the viewers of the show, is that you never brought that up as your source of inspiration. We never heard you saying something like “I was reading this article…” That never came up.
Because it was all edited out, so many things were edited out; so many nice things were edited out, interactions with each other, but you know, that’s their right to edit it the way they want to.


I didn't read the comments, but I'm sure there's more wank in there.

(Reply to this)


[info]bacon_lover
2009-11-21 08:23 pm UTC (link)
THROW UP ON HER

That's it; no context, no punctuation, all caps. Best. Wank Comment. Ever.

(Reply to this)


[info]kylenne
2009-11-22 06:14 am UTC (link)
This wank is very nearly as boring as this season was.

I was kind of hoping Carol Hannah would projectile vomit on Irina and make things interesting.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]tofuknight, 2009-11-23 10:39 pm UTC

[info]chibikaijuu
2009-11-25 12:11 pm UTC (link)
...all of her designs look like patterns my mother has from 1990.

(Reply to this)


 
   
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