'I Have a Dream' Posted in Defiance of Copyright for Internet Freedom Day

As Friday is one year since the Internet blackout against the Stop Online Piracy Act, some Internet activists are marking the date by declaring "Internet Freedom Day."

How does one celebrate Internet Freedom Day? Fight for the Future, an advocacy group that played a key role in SOPA's defeat, is commemorating the date by uploading and sharing footage of Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Why is that a radical move? Footage of the speech is copyrighted by EMI, which has issued takedown notices several times after the speech has been uploaded to services such as YouTube.

Update: The video has been taken down from Vimeo. Fight for the Future is trying to learn more and is working to upload it elsewhere.

Update II: The video is back, now on YouTube.

Uploading the speech in acknowledged defiance of the copyright simultaneously celebrates Internet freedom and the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., who advocated for civil disobedience as a means to effect change. Martin Luther King, Jr. day is Monday, Jan. 21.

"It's untenable to have a world where young people can't easily hear and watch Dr. King's message of racial justice because it is censored by broken copyright laws,"

"It's untenable to have a world where young people can't easily hear and watch Dr. King's message of racial justice because it is censored by broken copyright laws," said Tiffiniy Cheng, one of Fight for the Future's co-directors, in a statement. "We're asking everyone on the internet to honor Dr. King's legacy and take part in a small act of civil disobedience by sharing the full video of his speech today."

Fight for the Future's video argues that if SOPA passed, Internet users could have been penalized for uploading or sharing the speech and "entire websites could have been shut down just for linking to it."

"[The video is] copyrighted so what we are doing technically is illegal," said Evan Greer, campaign manager at Fight for the Future, in an e-mail to Mashable. We'd more likely get a takedown notice than a lawsuit. Other versions of it have been taken down from YouTube. We think we have an excellent argument for Fair Use since it is clearly part of political speech and we are not making any money off it."

Mashable reached out to Cheng via e-mail for more on why Fight for the Future picked the "I Have a Dream" speech:

MLK Jr. fought for freedom for everyone — when I first heard his message, it changed me. Everyone should have the opportunity to see him speak. Hardly anyone wants to live in a world where something as inspirational and educational as Dr. King's speech can't be shared. And, Internet Freedom Day is about that. Learning and seeking knowledge is at the heart of what the internet is about it, and we're asking people to see and share the best of what has to be learned, albeit doing that it is illegal.

Dr. King, perhaps, would have agreed with Fight for the Future's tactics.

"One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws," he famously wrote in his Letter from Birmingham Jail. "Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws."

Access the video here: "MLK's 'I Have a Dream' speech is copyrighted. Share it anyway."

Other activity being planned for Internet Freedom Day can be found at InternetFreedomDay.net. Are you taking part? Why? Share in the comments.

Thumbnail image courtesy Fight for the Future