If you're any sort of geek, you have more than a passing knowledge of copyright laws, fair use, licensing agreements, Creative Commons licensing, and the like. Apparently, if you're a corporate giant like Wal-Mart, you've developed a feeling that the laws were written with your interests solely in mind, and you don't need to pay much attention, despite the large herd of lawyers on your payroll. This is a great "dog bites man" story, totally the opposite of what we're used to hearing nowadays when copyright rears it's ugly head. Wal-Mart apparently decided to stop using the services of the small production company that had taped their internal meetings for decades, and offered only a small sum (even to my untutored eye) for the library. To make ends meet, Flagler Productions is now offering that archive to all comers - plaintiffs attorneys in discrimination lawsuits, unions, you name it. You have to wonder how Wal-Mart didn't realize that Flagler owned the copyright and could pursue this route?
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