Apple Computer, that firm highly protective of its intellectual property (IP), didn’t always follow the rules when it came to other folks IP rights. On January 24, 1984 Apple Computer started selling the original Macintosh computer, which had, unbelievably, a mere 128k of RAM.
Apple introduced the computer with a highly produced commercial directed by film director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, etc.). The commercial ran during Super Bowl XVIII and was called “1984” and referenced George Orwell’s dystopian novel of the same name. The one minute spot was shot for more than $300,000. Scott incorporated local British skinheads to play the part of the shuffling drones, which visually echoed Fritz Lang’s SciFi masterpiece Metropolis.
The ad was only broadcast on network TV once. One reason for that may have been attorney & producer Marvin Rosenblum. He owned the film and TV rights to the novel, which he had purchased from Orwell’s widow, Sonia. After seeing the ad, he sent Apple a cease-and-desist letter threatening legal action if the ad were to run again. Rosenblum went on to executive produce director Michael Radford’s film of 1984, starring John Hurt, Suzanna Hamilton & Richard Burton. The film had its own controversy when Virgin Films replaced parts of the Dominic Muldowney’s original orchestral score with songs from the group The Eurythmics. #Apple #1984 #SuperbowlAds #intellectualpropertyrights #IP #1984AppleAd #RidleyScott #JohnHurt #RichardBurton #MichaelRadford #TheEurythmics #dystopianfilms #dystopianmovies #scifimovies
Tim: The story is true as far as it goes, but because the Apple ad only made reference to 1984, and did not copy any of the novel’s text, the threat was an empty one. Steve Jobs had decreed prior to the Super Bowl airing that the ad would be shown once, and only once by Apple. In part, this was his native showmanship, and in part, it was because the cost of the ad, plus the air time so angered his board of directors that he had to scale back efforts to market the Macintosh (which was both late and priced over the target that the company had set for the “Computer for the Rest of Us.”
Thanks, Lawrence. That’s an important distinction. Interestingly, the article I read in The Dartmouth Law Journal by William R. Coulson <https://web.archive.org/web/20110725220353/http://www.dartmouthlawjournal.org/articles/106-115.pdf> gave a very stringent view of fair use and how Apple had violated Marvin Rosenblum’s rights as the film and TV rights holder for 1984. But good to get your view on it as an attorney who knows a thing or two about IP and copyright! Great to hear from you and hope all is well. I wish Chuck was around to read my Rope book. I think he would have enjoyed it.