Gaijin a Go-Go
Zero One Design is a Canadian Web design firm that has created an amazing web
site called The Gaijin a Go Go Cafe. This site that features videos of
cheesy
Japanese TV commercials featuring famous American film
stars. Celluloid superstars featured on the site include:
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Leonard diCaprio, for some kind of snack food and a credit card
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Antonio Banderas, for Suburu Forester
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Sean Connery, for Mazda
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Beavis & Butthead, for Mintia mints
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Demi Moore, for some kind of weird sport squirt food
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Keanu Reeves, for Suntory Whiskey
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Christian Slater, for Toyota
-
Meg Ryan, for PurPeau beauty cream.
Apparently there is a lucrative market for American actors to appear in
Japanese commercials. Since the commercials are for domestic distribution
only, these actors can debase themselves for hard cash without fear of
tarnishing their reputation in the American market. But as usual,
the Web changes everything.
Video -
The DirectTV Commercial
Arnold a Hawk
Arnold has not appeared in many commercials in the US, but he appears in a
Japanese ad hawking DirectTV in which he play the role of a boxed entertainment
export. This ad was not meant for release in the United States. But
thanks to Zero One Design, it was a featured dish at the Gaijin a Go-Go
Cafe. 
Apparently, Arnold was not amused. Attorneys for Japanese advertising giant
Dentsu, which produced the commercial, sent the Zero One Design a
cease-and-desist letter claiming copyright violation. Attorneys for
DirecTV sent them a cease-and-desist letter claiming the Gaijin a Go-Go site
infringes DirecTV's trademark and Schwarzenegger's intellectual property
rights.
Zeroed Out
Zero One Designs capitulated and took down the video stream on the requested
dadeo stream on the requested date of August 10, 2000. Zero One Design
claim they are not intentionally violating
copyrighted materials, but are just trying to show what cannot be seen in North
America. They claim that the Gaijin a Go Go Cafe site is not a business
and does not charge a fee for its video streams. It also includes links to
Amazon.com, where readers can purchase legitimate DVDs and videos featuring the
stars in the ads.
Given the above fact pattern, it appears that Zero One could
have a reasonable fair use argument.