Martin Luther King Jr.‘s “I Have a Dream” speech is considered one of the most recognizable collection of words in American history. [...] So we might hold it to be self evident that it can be spread freely.

Not exactly. Any unauthorized usage of the speech and a number of other speeches by King – including in PBS documentaries – is a violation of American law. [...]

That’s because the King estate, and, as of 2009, the British music publishing conglomerate EMI Publishing, owns the copyright of the speech and its recorded performance. While the copyright restriction isn’t news, EMI’s unusual role in policing the use of King’s words [...] hasn’t been widely reported.[...]

Whatever happens with SOPA and PIPA, and the discussion they’ve sparked about regulation of the Internet and the tension between Silicon Valley and Hollywood, some very important questions remain about how we treat ideas.[...]

http://motherboard.vice.com/2012/1/16/copyright-king-why-the-i-have-a-dr...