Copyright risks, and the law

  • Thread starter Thread starter TheRealWaldo
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TheRealWaldo

TheRealWaldo

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I'm posting this hopefully so you all have a better understanding.

1) Copyrights are formed the instant a work is created. No, a song does not have to be registered for it to be protected by the law.

2) Posting material on the internet for public consumption is considered public performance. This means it is governed by copyright law, as would performing in a venue live.

3) Copyright law dictates that in order for material to be performed publicly, permission must be first garnered from the copyright owner, in legal, written form.

4) Samples of a work, no matter how short, are also governed by the same laws. As well as lyrics, and genral melody (although, melody is a very difficult case to defend or attack with in court)

5) Money does NOT need to change hands for a copyright infringment to take place. Nor does purchasing a song, track, or sample automatically give you the rights. You can, however, purchase permissions in several forms (ASCAP, BMI, SEPSAC, etc.) and sometimes, in the example of purchasing a samples CD, the rights to use the material comes along with the CD. They must, however be in written form, to be fully legal.

6) When posting copyright material on the internet, you place yourself, the site owner, the host, the line owner, communications company, etc. at legal risk for lawsuit.

7) I don't know of a SINGLE host on the planet that does not state in their contract 'We will shut you down if you do not have permission to use copyrighted material through our services'

8) If, for example, you post material on NWR, and do not have rights, you are risking

i) lawsuit against yourself
ii) lawsuit against myself (the site owner)
iii) lawsuit against the server host
iv) your site being disabled on NWR permanently
v) NWR being shut down because of violation of terms of agreement between myself (site owner), and the host

Got questions? Ask, I'll answer.

W.
 
No questions, but I do believe that all you say is fact. Its good for people to know, for sure. In this day and age where many people think artists should give their work away for free, its nice to know that this is not the case, in reality. I only post my own work on Nowhere, BTW.
 
hey SCREW YOU mr. I DONT WANT TO GET SUED AND HAVE TO FORK OVER A BUNCH OF MONEY ..
i have my own problems...get off my back..





ass.



jamal:D
 
Take "folk" songs for example. Not hippy shit, the real stuff. That stuff is completely legal to cover? Also Mozart and the likes correct?
 
How do all those guitar tab sites stay in business with the simple disclaimer-

#This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research.
 
I doubt it is ilegal to post the notes......just like quoting a book. Give the author credit and all is good.
 
Copyright law usually extends 60 years after the death of the owner. So most classical works at that point become 'public domain'.

It is possible for an artist to register a work as 'public domain' right from the get go as well, which is where a considerable amount of folk music sits.

W.
 
Actually, it is LocusLarsen, but as I said, it's a rarely contested section of the law. Very difficult to prove anything there... Unless it's blatant...

W.

---edit--

And P.S., if you quote a section of a book, even with credit, legally, the author can sue your ass.

Look in any book, 'reproduction, in whole, or in part, is prohibitted without written permission'
 
AuraLee(can't spell it probably) .... that is a "folk" song....no one owns a copyright on that, correct?
 
AuraLee, first published in 1861 I believe. Elvis then changed the lyrics and it became 'Love Me Tender'.

If you do Elvis', then I believe you'll need permission from his estate, but the original has become public domain.

W.
 
Just a side question.........

How do you change the image uploaded on nowhereradio.com? I can delete songs, but I don't see a way to change the picture.
 
Just re-upload a new picture, that should be it. Oh yeah, and then clear your local cache, as the image will have the same name regardless, so your browser will still think it's the old one until the cache is refreshed!

W.
 
"...In this day and age where many people think artists should give their work away for free, its nice to know that this is not the case..."

I don't believe anyone thinks the artists should give thier work away for free, however most people are against the record industry that has been ripping off artist and consumers since before Elvis. On a GOOD deal the artist can end up with $0.50 on a CD that you pay $16 for. I have worked in the business and I know the mark up, and how people get paid what. LARS SHUT THE HELL UP!!! That guy is too damn dumb to know who his real enimies are.

$100 for a concert ticket
$40 for a T-shirt
$40 for a program
not to mention $12 for a pretzel and a coke. $15 to park the car at the show. Then everyone is piss if you download the song for free.

I know that artist are upset, and have a right to be, but they need to face the fact that the fans are not the bad guys. Having them thrown in jail or drug into court is not a good way to keep up the fan base. Artist and the music industry need to rethink the way things are done now. You can't fight progress. Companies stay alive by staying one step ahead of the game, not by trying to stop the game.
By the war Lars got rich and famous by telling fans to copy thier early music and share it with their friends. "..but if you do it after I"m filthy rich, or run out of good material....I'll have you thrown in jail!"
 
...............right right right...................................:o
 
Hey Waldo,
It seems really petty that record co.'s and major label artists would ever seek action against a "nobody" that would post covers on the internet, but i can respect your concern. You are a bigger target than I am. Im gonna pull Parasite from my song list.
g
 
I just took all the covers off my page.. I'm not going to risk anyone getting sued for freakin 'safety dance.' :)
 
Waldo... Suppose somebody rips off original material posted on NWR (or anywhere else). The original author has a copyright the instant they've written the work. But suppose that the original author does not have a registered copyright (with the U.S. Copyright Office for example). Suppose that author sues the person ripping them off.

How easy/difficult will it be for them to prove they've been ripped off? What could/would NWR do to help that author establish they created the work?

Thanks.
 
Waldo is doing a terrific service for everyone's songs to be heard. I hope we all do the right thing and remove cover songs from NWR. I noticed at least a handful of cover tunes of current artists on there.

DC
 
Thanks Waldo for letting me post my so called "music" on your server. I also removed 99 Red Balloons so you wouldn't get in trouble..
 
You still didn't answer this one.

TexRoadkill said:
How do all those guitar tab sites stay in business with the simple disclaimer-

#This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research.

Those tab sites have 1000x the exposure and advertising as Nowhere.
 
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