Wal-Mart has the largest repository of recorded video on the planet. It just so happens that not all of it is in the retail giant's control. One production company in particular is sitting on a treasure trove of Wal-Mart footage and has decided to open up these video archives to make a little cash on the side.
Flagler Productions, who recorded countless hours of internal Wal-Mart meetings from the 1970s through 2006, was fired two years ago. While that move effectively cut off most of the company's revenue stream, Flagler discovered there are actually plenty of people out there interested in viewing such material -- especially if it involves managers prancing about in drag at an executive meeting. According to the AP, Flagler is charging $250 an hour to outside parties for "video research" and additional fees for a DVD copy of film clips.
How are they able to do this? Amazingly, no contract was ever signed between Flagler and Wal-Mart, and as Techdirt observes, copyright law dictates that whoever filmed the footage technically owns it.
To date, there's been tremendous interest in the videos by those involved in various lawsuits against Wal-Mart, including plaintiffs' lawyers and union critics with a bone to pick with the world's largest retailer.
Among other gems never meant for public display, there's apparently one scene of male managers parading in drag at an executive meeting. This footage was subsequently used by union-backed critics at Wal-Mart Watch for a recent advertisement questioning the retailer's attitude toward female employees.
As you might expect, Wal-Mart has offered to buy back the rights to the footage. Unfortunately, there seems to be a substantial gap between what the retail giant is offering ($500,000) and what Flagler's thinks these archived videos are worth ($145 million).
Says a Wal-Mart spokesperson:
"...we did not pay Flagler Productions to tape internal meetings with this aftermarket in mind."
