www.myspace.com/mymoviemashup

So MySpace has lanched a UK competition to be the director on a £1m feature film. Myspace users and big-name directors such as Anthony Minghella will choose the winner from short films submitted to MySpace. Film4 and Vertigo Films will then help develop a project with a million pound budget.

Only two small problems… firstly it isn’t in any sense a ‘mashup’; and secondly a brief look at the rules and regulations suggests ‘mymovie’ will in fact become Myspace’s movie (i.e. Rupert Murdoch’s movie) for the ‘full term of copyright’ (70 years after your death?) :

“You grant a worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive license for all of the intellectual property rights in and embodied in the Video to MySpace for the full term of copyright including all extensions and renewals, to communicate to the public, distribute, copy to reproduce, prepare derivate works of, distribute, display, exhibit, transmit, broadcast, televise, digitise, otherwise use, and permit others to use and perform throughout the world the Video in any manner, form, or format now or hereinafter created, including on the internet and otherwise use it in the course of this Competition and in any television production (including a “making of” or other television series) made about the Competition (the “Licence”) and you agree to enter into any and all agreements at the direction of MySpace to ensure that the Licence is valid and enforceable in a court of law without further payment.”

Perhaps even worse, it seems shortlisted directors will themselves become Myspace property:

“The short-listed directors shall consent to being filmed during the Competition, and without payment for his or her image and likeness to be used for any purpose connected to it, including in any television production, poster, media interviews or other advertising campaign.”

Great… I guess we should be thankful they don’t ask for your blood too.

It’s also sad to see this kind of ‘opportunity’ being reported so uncritically by the BBC, but I guess Murdoch’s News Corporation has a great PR team.