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Here are some commonly heard comments from videographers/editors in various forums that I hope some of these answers address: I can’t find the copyright holder for an obscure song. Since the artist is an unknown, I can probably get away with using it. FALSE. In today’s world of universal access, you’ll find someone, somewhere, that has heard that song and will know the composer of that song, guaranteed. This usually is the source of violators getting caught. Finding copyright holders has never been easier. The Library of Congress site has on-line searching available, and will display the name of the copyright holder for that person. Figure 1 shows a search I performed under my own name, starting at the http://catalog.loc.gov/ page. Figure 2 shows one of several pages of results, including copyright date, and information about who registered the copyright on my behalf. (I’m glad I checked, I found a music publisher that had made an error in a recent registration) Many licenses may be obtained through the services of a Harry Fox Agency if all else fails. Unauthorized use of any copyrighted work exposes you, your company, and your client to legal action whether you can find the copyright holder or not. [an error occurred while processing this directive]
If the music is from a bar that pays ASCAP or BMI, I can leave it in the background of my video. FALSE. If the music constitutes any organized or significant element of the video work, and the work is not documentary or news-gathering in nature, you may not leave ancillary background music in a video feature, unless the music is of a significant difference in level, ie; you are doing an interview with someone in a bar, and the music is not heard at a level that would be considered near the volume level or importance of the dialog and the music cannot be removed from the video recording without jeopardizing the dialog. If the project is a feature for instance, it’s expected that the director/producer has control over the audio heard in the background. Regardless, to use music from a tavern or social hall that pays ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC licensing fees, is a violation of copyright laws because the tavern/social hall does not have a sync license to synchronize video with the audio, nor is their license to play the audio transferable to a third party. Paying ASCAP/BMI/SESAC fees on your own does not grant a sync license to synchronize video with audio. With that in mind, the Library of Congress Folklore archivist has suggested that for older recordings, (pre-1956 & not registered w/LOC) sending a certified letter to the families of the recording artist and receiving it returned unsigned for or opened, might demonstrate that you've exercised best efforts in reaching a copyright holder. While this doesn't qualify as permission, it does seem to be reasonable. An attorney recommended to me that if this course was taken, that royalties for the family or relative of the recording artist be held in account for a period of seven years. The artist should be happy, I’m letting other people hear his/her song, and maybe they’ll go buy the CD. It’s like free advertising. How can the artist complain about that? The artist has certain rights to control where and when their music is heard. You don’t have any rights because you didn’t create the work. Imagine my own personal surprise when I was scanning HBO one night, and heard my own music playing in the background of an orgy scene of a show called "Real Sex". I was incensed. Artists must possess the right to maintain a certain level of control over their works. This cuts both ways, incidentally. Think of this in terms of your children. You have specific rights of control. A teacher in the school is also granted certain rights with regard to your child but you as the parent (copyright holder) can restrict the teacher at any moment in time.
Well first, you've just created a record of the creation of the song. If this happened after April 1, 1989, then there is no requirement for the copyright symbol, the work is technically copyrighted the moment it’s embodied in a tangible form of expression. You rendered it tangible by recording the work. Even if it’s just lyrics scribbled on a napkin or posted in a web forum, the courts have found repeatedly this is copyrighted material. Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next [an error occurred while processing this directive] 
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