Three months ago, artist Francis Hwang was blocked from selling an unauthorized Special-Edition Negativland vs. U2 IPod on eBay's auction site after Apple complained it violated its copyrights.
So now Hwang has decided to ditch eBay. He's selling the iPod on his own website with the intention of turning a statement about pop culture into a free speech issue -- even if Apple launches a legal challenge.
...Hwang loaded the iPod, originally a U2 Special Edition model, with seven albums from Negativland.
The band was sued in 1991 by U2's label, Island Records, for allegedly using an unlicensed sample of "I still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." The suit was settled out of court and the Negativland song pulled from distribution.
Hwang said he made the iPod as a statement after seeing Apple iPod adverts featuring U2. He thought of all the bands Apple could have used, U2 was a weird choice because of its Negativland lawsuit, which he considered anti-artistic.
"When you look at the Island Records v. Negativland case you see an internet era intellectual property case before the internet," said Hwang.
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