SAN FRANCISCO —

The U.S. Supreme Court may have stopped broadcasts of California’s same-sex marriage trial, but that has not prevented filmmakers from re-enacting it for the Internet.

Two Los Angeles-based filmmakers have used transcripts, bloggers in the courtroom and professional actors to help recreate the trial. The first of 12 episodes - each covering a day of the trial - appeared on YouTube on Monday.

Filmmaker John Ireland says the goal was to allow Americans to judge the constitutionality of Proposition 8, which restricted marriage to a man and a woman. Ireland and fellow filmmaker John Ainsworth oppose the ban.

The Supreme Court last month blocked a plan to have testimony in the trial uploaded to YouTube, saying it could subject supporters of Proposition 8 to harassment.

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In what is being bashed as a decision that will allow foreign corporations to control elections in the United States, the Supreme Court decided to invalidate elements of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA).  Among other things, BCRA prevented Unions and Corporations from supporting or opposing a candidate for public office within 30 days of a primary. I guess that’s bipartisanship, because it didn’t do much.

However, the SCOTUS determined that anytime the government prevents a person (Unions and Corporations are people, just like you and me) from expressing a particular viewpoint, it offends the 1st Amendment.

Premised on mistrust of governmental power, the First Amendment stands against attempts to disfavor certain subjects or viewpoints or to distinguish among different speakers, which may be a means to control content.

Is this the beginning of a new era of corruption in politics?  Hardly.  The SCOTUS specifically invited congress to amend the BCRA to prohibit foreign content manipulation of U.S. campaigns.

Because [BCRA] is not limited to corporations or associations created in foreign countries or funded predominantly by foreign shareholders, it would be overbroad even if the Court were to recognize a compelling governmental interest in limiting foreign influence over the Nation’s political process. Pp. 46–47. (Italics added)

So…a BCRA amendment that prevents foreign manipulation of political content would not be overbroad and therefore constitutional?  I got the hint, I wonder if congress will.  The Obama administration appears to have missed the distinction.

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Once upon a time, copyrights lasted for 14 years from the creation of an artistic or literary work.  The purpose was to balance the societal interests between an author (encouraging the arts by giving a limited monopoly) and the public domain (increasing the works freely available to all). With the growth of large content owning publishers, studios, and record labels, the 14-year exclusive right has morphed into a lifetime right, plus 70 years.  What was once meant to encourage artistic works has now become an annuity for people who were never involved in the creative process.

Enter Google’s Nexus One phone and the estate of Philip K. Dick.

“We feel this is a clear infringement of our intellectual-property rights,” said Isa Dick Hackett, a daughter of Mr. Dick and the chief executive of Electric Shepherd Productions, an arm of the Dick estate devoted to adapting the late author’s works. “Our legal team is dealing head-on with this.”

Which “intellectual-property rights” are we talking about here?  Can you guess?

Mr. Dick’s 1968 novel, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,” which served as the basis for the 1982 cult film “Blade Runner,” follows a bounty hunter chasing androids known as Nexus-6 models.

Get it?  “Android” and “Nexus.” Used together! It must be a copyright violation.

Here’s hoping to get a copy of the letter sent to the Google legal department so that we can dissect the baseless claims one by one.  In the meantime, Mr. Dick’s heirs will certainly see an uptick in their royalties as this story circulates.

Once this matter resolves itself, we can move on to the important issues about Blade Runner.  Such as whether the film is better with the voice over, the unicorn scene, or both.

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