Laws Concerning use of music

Comments

• Reply 1 of 7

  ebby Posts: 3,110member

  March 20, 2003 11:36PM

  Sketchy. Technically, you can't broadcast the music for a public performance. But with schools... I think school projects are somewhat exempt from the rule. You would have to give credit at the end (a simple two-lines 1-song title, 2-Artist) BUT you don't have to get permission to use the song. Make sure you erase the program after you are done with it.
  
  
  
  EDIT: I know some of you are lawyers out there! Don't make me hunt you down!
• Reply 2 of 7

  hmurchison Posts: 12,423member

  March 20, 2003 11:43PM

  I think she's fine. Copyright has many vague parts but it exists to protect the Owner. However in many cases of Copyright Infringement the owner must show that they have impacted in some harmeful way or that their works have been used to compete against them. A Teacher using music as a backdrop would be hard to stifle. Thousands of home made movies have backing tracks from the creators favorite songs...this is not illegal. Broadcasting would be unfair competition however .
• Reply 3 of 7

  mbezzo Posts: 77member

  March 21, 2003 12:09AM

  Thanks, I appreciate the replies.
  
  
  
  Does anyone know where I could find actual info on this though? I totally think she would be fine too, the problem is simply that she's been told she can't do it without concent. So what I need is some sort of actual proof saying that it is okay, or for that matter, that it isn't. She needs to be able to take something in to this Tech guy and say "here, it's not a big deal, don't worry about it"
  
  
  
  Thanks again,
  
  Matt
• Reply 4 of 7

  mbezzo Posts: 77member

  March 21, 2003 12:20AM

  this has got me thinking... So, it's legal for someone to play music on their stereo for a group of people, say at a dance or party or something, right? Heck, playing music for a group of people, in an office, at work, whatever. That's all legal right? So how in the heck is this different? Would it be legal then (if it were in fact illegal to include in the video without proper consent) to play the movie without audio, and play the music through a stereo along with the video? Hmm, this is such an annoyingly gray area.
  
  
  
  This movie will not be distributed or anything like that, it basically won't leave her laptop. It's gonna be projected in front of a group of education professionals before a meeting.
• Reply 5 of 7

  progmac Posts: 1,850member

  March 21, 2003 12:24AM

  mbezzo,
  
  
  
  There is something known as educational fair-use in the realm of copyright law. If the purpose of the presentation is to inform in an educational setting (AKA teach) than it is perfectly legal to incorporate copywritten material into the presentation, provided the presenter or the school owns the license to that music.
  
  
  
  A quick quote from the page to which I'll be linking (from S. Day O'Conner):
  
  
  
  " The primary objective of copyright is not to reward the labor of authors, but '[t]o promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts.' To this end, copyright assures authors the right to their original expression, but encourages others to build freely upon the ideas and information conveyed by a work. This result is neither unfair nor unfortunate. It is the means by which copyright advances the progress of science and art."
  
  
  
  The idea here is that for an educational presentation, new ideas would be put forth and the copywritten material would merely be one of many tools to put forth that presentation.
  
  
  
  Out of this rises the previously mentioned fair-use exception, which I believe your scenario falls under.
  
  
  
  Here is a great link:
  
  http://www.usg.edu/admin/legal/copyright/#part2d1
  
  
  
  Prog
• Reply 6 of 7

  mbezzo Posts: 77member

  March 21, 2003 12:41AM

  progmac,
  
  Awesome! That's exactly what I was looking for
  
  
  
  Thanks!
• Reply 7 of 7

  progmac Posts: 1,850member

  March 21, 2003 8:37AM

  cool, glad i could help
  
  
  
  prog