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Don't Copy That Floppy

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Don't Copy That Floppy was an anti-copyright infringement campaign run by the Software Publishers Association (SPA) beginning in 1992.[1]

The "Disk Protector" showing the title of the campaign during the rap portion of the video

The video for the campaign, starring M. E. Hart as "MC Double Def DP",[2] was filmed at Cardozo High School in Washington, D.C., and produced by cooperation between the SPA, the Educational Section Anti-Piracy Committee, and the Copyright Protection Fund, in association with Vilardi Films.[3]

The groups distributed the film for general viewing through VHS tapes that were mailed to schools. In later years, the film became a viral video sensation through websites such as YouTube, where the official video has had over 2 million views as of January 2022.[3][4]

On August 17, 2009, the Software and Information Industry Association (formed in 1999 when the Software Publishers Association merged with the Information Industry Association) released a follow-up to Don't Copy That Floppy, called Don't Copy That 2. The sequel features MC Double Def DP as he continues his crusade against "piracy" in the digital age.[5]

Synopsis

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Screenshot from ad showing Corey and Jenny playing a video game

Two teenagers, Jenny (played by Marja Allen) and Corey (played by Jimmy Todd[6]), are playing a game on a classroom computer. Corey is exuberantly pushing keys to show the viewer that he is heavily immersed in the game action; Jenny is winning.

Frustrated, he asks for a rematch, but she has an upcoming class and must leave. He decides he will copy the game so that he can play it at home. Upon inserting his blank floppy disk into the Apple Macintosh LC, a video pops up on the computer. This video is of a rapper named MC Double Def DP, the "Disk Protector" (played by M.E. Hart).

The message of the video is that copyright infringement of software will cause the video game industry to lose money, resulting in less production of computer games. (The games the video chooses as examples—The Oregon Trail, Tetris, and the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? series—were among the most successful and best-selling games from the end of the 1980s to the mid-1990s.)

The rap video portion is interspersed with interviews of artists, writers, programmers and a lawyer. These people are the staff responsible for design of an early version of the game Neverwinter Nights (then an America Online MMORPG) and allows them to explain the issue in greater detail:

They explain how games are made, indicating that creating a game can involve 20 to 30 people integrating the various parts, and working on documentation, technical support, and marketing. The point they try to raise is that if sales are low, the authors may decide that the game is unpopular and stop making it.

At the end of the video, the DP fades away, leaving Corey and Jenny to decide for themselves whether they will copy the game — they decide against it. Corey, who has some money left over from his summer job, decides that he will buy the game. Jenny agrees and jokes that Corey's game will even come with a manual. The Wall Street Journal has stated that the film's aesthetic is similar to the television program Saved By the Bell. It has also highlighted it as an example of classic bubblegum hip-hop with significant staying power.[4]

Criticism

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The major criticism of the campaign came from educators and the press, who criticized the campaign for only promoting one point of view, instead of a broader scope of the issue of copyright online. That point of view, they argued, was biased because it benefited a specific group (the software publishing industry), and failed to present alternative views such as the Free Software movement.[7]

Popularity online

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In the mid-2000s, the popularity of the video was revived, but this time as a meme. Since the creators have always allowed noncommercial copying of the film, it became a viral video after video-sharing sites such as Google Video and YouTube went online in the mid-2000s. The video first gained popularity on the site YTMND in 2004 and then gained (and regained) widespread YouTube popularity in 2005, 2006, and 2008, sparking user-generated remixes and parodies, and is now considered a popular internet meme.[8]

A piece of the video was sampled for the 2016 TV Girl track Taking What’s Not Yours.

Sequel

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In August 2009, the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) released a follow-up to the original video of 1992, titled Don't Copy That 2. The video features M. E. Hart reprising his role as "MC Double Def DP" and follows a college student named Jason who sells pirated software online before being arrested for his crimes (though it is unclear whether the legal repercussions are a dream or not). The video also features convicted software pirate Jeremiah Mondello in a prison interview.[9]

Criticism

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Since its release, Don't Copy That 2 has been criticized by the press for being out of date, referencing material like the Doom series and Klingon that the current target audience (mostly teenagers) may not be familiar with.[10] The sequel was also heavily criticized in the press for misrepresenting the way copyright law is enforced, what types of copying were actually considered "criminal" enough to prompt punishment, and what punishment actually looked like.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Don't Copy That Floppy". Edge. No. 131. Future Publishing. December 2003. p. 91.
  2. ^ "M.E. Hart". IMDb. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Don't Copy That Floppy". April 2, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2013 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ a b LaVallee, Andrew (September 8, 2009). "'Don't Copy That Floppy' Dusts Itself Off for the '00s". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
  5. ^ "Piracy and Copyright Educational Resources". The Software & Information Industry Association. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2014. Start with this fun and educational video starring anti-piracy hero MC Double Def DP [Disk Protector] of 1992's "Don't Copy That Floppy" fame.
  6. ^ "Jimmy Todd". IMDb.
  7. ^ Stuebe, Alison. "The Struggle to Teach Virtual Ethics". The New York Times. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  8. ^ "Know Your Meme". June 14, 2009. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  9. ^ "Don't Copy That 2 (Official Sequel to Don't Copy That Floppy)". AntiSoftwarePirates. August 17, 2009 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ Summers, Nick (September 10, 2009). "Why Rap, Klingons, and Jailhouse-Rape-by-Broomstick Aren't the Best Way To Teach Kids About Piracy". Newsweek. Archived from the original on August 28, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  11. ^ Masnick, Mike (July 7, 2009). "SIIA's Sequel To Don't Copy That Floppy Lies About Criminality of Copying". TechDirt.
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