Eric Duhaime’s Conservative Party used an excerpt from the Grumpy for one of its commercials without asking the consent of the creators of the cult series.
The latter also jumped when they read the video, dismayed that their work is being used to promote a political movement at odds with the ideas that the program originally wanted to convey.
The right-wing political formation finally removed the video from Facebook at the end of the day on Tuesday, indicating by email that it was “a mistake in good faith” and by committing to “review the concept of human rights. ‘author with the volunteer who manages the page’.
Published on Sunday, the ad almost entirely took up a scene from an episode of the second season in which Paul Bougon (Rémy Girard) ridicules Mononcle (Claude Laroche) because he is thinking of honestly buying a car rather than stealing it. . The excerpt ended on rock music with, in close-up, a message reminding that the Conservative Party of Quebec promises to stop imposing the QST on used goods, including used cars.
“Of course, it is debatable that a good that has been taxed is retaxed on resale. Let’s discuss it. But artists live off their copyright. If Duhaime does not like being screwed by buying a used product, he should start by setting an example by not screwing the artists, ”replied with a touch of sarcasm. Grumpy, François Avard, after viewing the ad.
No authorization
A resolutely leftist man, François Avard admits that he is not a great admirer of the former Quebec radio host who became a politician. Even if Eric Duhaime had personally asked him for permission, he would have refused his party to use an extract from his series for advertising purposes.
The problem is that the Conservative Party of Quebec did not seek permission before resuming a segment of the series. Enough to get the co-producer of Grumpy Fabienne Larouche, when the To have to brought this ad to its attention.
“This is certainly a violation of copyright and moral rights. This is unacceptable, and we are going to take the necessary steps to ensure that this publication is withdrawn, ”she said by email, a few hours before the political party removed it from its page.
Public domain
Content does not automatically enter the public domain until fifty years after the death of its creator. They can then be reused without authorization.
Other works are subject to copyright law at all times, with some exceptions, such as when they are parodied or criticized.
This is certainly a violation of copyright and moral rights.
What is more, the advertising of the Conservative Party of Quebec possibly came into conflict with the notion of moral rights, as François Avard firmly rejects the discourse of this political formation. “Moral rights recognize that there is an intimate link between the artist and his work beyond economic considerations. This includes the right to prevent a work from being associated with a cause that prejudices the honor or reputation of the artist, ”explains Me Érika Bergeron-Drolet, lawyer specializing in intellectual property.
Quite a passage
According to her, the issues surrounding this advertisement are reminiscent of those raised by singer Pierre Lapointe in 2013. At the time, the singer-songwriter rebelled in the media because the Liberal Party of Quebec had played its title I’ll be back during his chiefdom convention without warning him, especially since he had harshly criticized the position of the Charest government a year earlier, during the student strike.
In the case of the advertising of the Conservative Party of Quebec, it is quite a portion of the television series that has been taken out of context.
Joined from Alberta, where he is on an economic and political trip, Eric Duhaime did not want to answer our questions, contenting himself with criticizing the To have to for not having assigned a journalist to his party convention last weekend. The Canadian Press, however, was responsible for covering the event for the newspaper.
A right series?
Even if the conservative advertising video has been deleted, several other passages of the series broadcast between 2003 and 2005 have been retrieved from social networks by right-wing groups, in particular Paul Bougon’s monologues where he shoots red balls on the system. which, according to him, works in the interest of a small elite.
” The Bougons, it was anti-left, anti-right, but with a tendency to the left. Our goal with the series has always been to bring the world to the left against the system, ”nevertheless emphasizes François Avard.
However, with the cynical gaze it casts on Quebec society, has this dramatic comedy rather fueled the rise of right-wing populism, which is embodied today in the Conservative Party of Eric Duhaime?
The author of the series deviates from the subject when asked the question, but assures that he would not write The Bougons differently today so that viewers can better understand the point.
“The advantage of Grumpy, it’s always been that we preached to people who weren’t converted. I remember people congratulating me at the grocery store because they thought we were laughing at BS, when it wasn’t at all.
“We said to ourselves that with the series, we could rather get them to be indignant about the system,” recalls the screenwriter, who, 15 years later, no longer believes that television can really change mentalities.