the Mark Pike

I wrote this paper in December 2008. Some of the topics came up recently in a discussion at work— and the media currently appears to be discussing the issue as well ever since a rock n’ roll star wrote a cease and desist letter to a presidential candidate. I thought I’d post it publicly in case anybody else is researching these type of matters. 

MEMORANDUM

TO: Prof. Marcus
FROM: Mark Pike
SUBJECT: Copyright and the 2008 Presidential Election

This memorandum seeks to clarify potential issues in the area of copyright law and the campaign advertising industry through a brief survey of the 2008 presidential election, applicable case law, and theory.

Because of competing interests, there is a clear tension between the First Amendment and copyright law— the former seeks to preserve the rights of free speech while the latter provides a limitation.

By highlighting the struggle of applying copyright law in a modern election, this memorandum aims to help candidates to effectively deliver their message and successfully navigate the challenges of intellectual property rights in the political context.

Questions Presented:

• Have advertisements traditionally received copyright protection?
• Do political ads satisfy the creative threshold?
• Which elements of political ads are eligible to receive copyright protection?
• How does the fair use doctrine apply to political ads?

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“They said… this day… would never come.”

It happened. Barack Obama is our President. I saw it happen with my own eyes. I watched the coming out party on TV, with so many others, when he instilled a sense of Hope from the Boston podium in 2004. I was there in DC, whispers all around about a change coming to town, a new man in the Senate chambers with an honest voice. I was there in Iowa; saw the people he brought into the political process. I was there in Virginia; saw the largest crowd ever assembled for a Democrat in town. I was there on election day; saw the turnout, the optimism, the understanding.

And, I was there when he took the oath. It was beautiful.

We could see the Presidential podium and people in the crowd, but they were in the distance, dwarfed by the magnitude of history. For a better view, we watched a television from the roof of a building just Northwest of the Capitol. It was somewhat surreal to watch the TV and hear the chants and cheers, somewhat ethereal to observe from above and yet feel completely within the moment.

Afterwards, Bush’s helicopter flew overhead. Just like that, he was gone.

While leaving the building we saw New York Gov. Patterson and I gave a head-nod and then said “hello”. In fact, for the entirety of the trip, I kept seeing celebrities and politicians all around town. For once, DC was actually a place where people wanted to be and be seen. On my first night in town, we saw Sen. John Kerry (who did not recognize me from that time we high-fived at a rally in Norfolk, VA in 2004), Marisa Tomei, Spike Lee, Matthew Modine, Star Jones, Tim Daly, and many others as we had coincidentally made dinner reservations at the same exact spot as the Creative Coalition’s pre-Inaugural party.

Throughout the celebration, everybody took to the streets. Large crowds and security checkpoints are an equalizing force. It was such a pleasure to strike up conversations with strangers and to bump into friends knowing that you were sharing a little slice of history. Vendors everywhere were hawking goods to commemorate the occasion, some tacky and some powerful.

After dancing in the streets for the parade, I took a quick nap to prepare for the Inaugural Balls. Ticket in hand, I headed to the Youth Ball only to be stuck in line for a long time. It was such a big ticket that everybody wanted to be there, but the fire marshall wouldn’t allow that to happen. Because of this, I missed Kanye West’s performance and the Obamas cameo. However, it was still fun to mingle with more celebs (Usher, Kanye, Fall Out Boy, Ashton and Demi, etc.). Next, I took a taxi with a friend to Google’s party and got acquainted with the dancefloor. Many more celebs were in the building rubbing elbows with Silicon Valleys brightest minds and DC’s new policy-makers. A collective sense of optimism all-around.

Another world is possible. We made it.

Spotted at Inaugs: Spike Lee, Matthew Modine, Marissa Tomei, John Kerry, Star Jones, Richard Schiff (Toby Ziegler!) To be continued…

Here’s some amateur analysis of the Virginia primary that I wrote for the Huffington Post. Turnout in the commonwealth was incredible.

I never thought I’d see 18,000 people gathered for a Democratic political rally in Virginia Beach.

It happened.

In 2004, I went and saw John Kerry address a gathering in Norfolk that was described as the largest assembled crowd to see a Democratic candidate in Hampton Roads since JFK made a visit. Well, I think that record just got smashed.

I wrote a piece about Obama’s rally for the Huffington Post. Please read it and feel free to leave comments.

Here’s another piece I just posted over at Huffington Post titled “Victims Of Push Polling Speak Out And Organize.”

It’s a follow-up to the previous post on political telemarketing, “Cell Phone-only Voters Frustrate Campaigns.”

I posted two more pieces to the Huffington Post.The first one is all about presidential campaign music, and what songs today’s youth think the candidates should be playing at their events.Leave a comment over at the Huff Po with what song you’d play if you were running for president.I also posted a review of CAUCUS!: THE MUSICAL, a local theater production in Des Moines that lampoons the ridiculousness of the political process. It was a pretty good show, and a welcome respite from the non-stop campaign events.

I wrote something for the Huffington Post about political telemarketing. Check it out if you’ve got a second, and feel free to leave a comment over there.

I wrote a paper about telemarketing this semester, so I guess I covered something that was still marinating in my mind.

Oh, and check out my travel colleague’s pieces too!

Road Trip Iowa 2K7 is fun. Check out the pics!

I’m headed to Iowa to cover the caucuses next week for the Huffington Post.

If you’ve got any friends (or, friends of friends) in Iowa pretty please hook me up with their contact information. I am especially interested in getting in touch with them if they are younger folks involved in the political process in any capacity (e.g. volunteers, campaign staff, or just caucusing it up).

And, if you’ve got any advice about Iowa, hook me up. Thus far, the only words of wisdom I’ve received— bring a warm jacket.