Copyright Wisdom

For Music in Multimedia

• “If you are having to talk about Fair

Use, then you’re already in trouble.”- Michael Brown,

NY Copyright Attorney

DON’T DOWNLOAD THIS SONG!!

Copyright CasesDuring the end of the 2005 – 2006 school year, a large and

affluent school district in (sorry, we took out the state name to omit speculation), who had large media programs for the students while running their own cable station, had been

insistent that they were operating within “Fair Use”, and using only portions of songs which were not for profit.

The district did not understand the proper meaning of “Fair Use”, and were forced to explain their actions to authorities. Thinking that their “Fair Use” explanation would hold up, the district was sited on 38 various law suits totaling over $30 million dollars. Upon further research, the authorities also

discovered peer to peer sharing of illegal music files among students, and filed separate lawsuits against the parents of guilty students. In the case of one girl, she had shared over 5 thousand illegal downloads, and her current fine is at $3

million dollars.

• I. Music Copyright Definition

• II. Illegal Platforms

• III. Legal Use

• IV. Educational Use

• V. Links and Resources

What is Copyright?

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wci

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:

• To reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords;• To prepare derivative works based upon the work; • To distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or

by rental, lease, or lending; • To perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works,

pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works;• To display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works,

pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work; and

• In the case of sound recordings, to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.

Illegal Music

(Also known as “peer to peer” sharing platforms)

Examples:

• Limewire

• Kazaa

What is legal use?

Purchased from legal distributor for:

• Home use

• Personal use

Educational Use

(Refer to)Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia

The Conference on Fair Use met in 1997 to try and establish some guidelines for educational use.

Educational Use

Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia

6.7 Licenses and ContractsEducators and students should determine whether specific

copyrighted works, or other data or information are subject to a license or contract. Fair use and these guidelines shall not

preempt or supersede licenses and contractual obligations.

Educational Use

Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia1997

However,In 2007 U.S. Copyright Office states:

http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.htmlThe distinction between “fair use” and infringement may be unclear and not

easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.

Educational Use

Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia

Section 3.2.3

No web publishing

No www.youtube.com

Must be on a secured, password protected network

No copies

Other points in the Fair Use Guidelines

• Must be relevant to course content

• Used for face to face instruction

• (Wise to document in your lesson plan)

• One time use

So what do we as educators do to be compliant?

1. Use only course related content – don’t “stretch” it. If in doubt, don’t use a copyrighted piece without written permission.

2. Use only for face-to-face instruction in a classroom setting.3. Do not post projects using copyrighted music to the web or

other public access places.4. Always document usage in your lesson plan.5. One time use only.6. Write a regional, district, school wide, or even class wide

copyright policy statement to which all users must agree.7. Have a royalty free music library to use music for multimedia

with a written license from the company.

REMEMBER L.E.O.

Legal – The law is the law, and we as educators have a responsibility to obey the law in our classroom setting.

Ethical – If we do not obey the copyright laws, then what are we teaching our students about ownership and legal issues?

Ownership – You do not own the music or material. It is not yours to use outside of home and personal use.

IMPORTANT NOTE…….

COPYRIGHT OWNERS are not just the big bad record

labels seeking to get you. Many copyright owners (and there may be many for one single song), are low-paid individuals who are trying to make a living – just like you. Even if you’re not making a profit, you can not use their material without their permission. And, the music industry is full of “hungry” people who don’t mind seeking out violations.

© © © © © © © © © © © ©

Set a good L.E.O. example for your students, parents and teachers while having “peace of mind” that your sites and systems are protected from copyright violations.

Links and Resources

www.copyright.gov - U.S. Copyright Office

www.ccumc.org/copyright/ccguides.html - Fair Use Guidelines

www.music-rules.com - Free on-line information for teachers, parents and students published by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)

www.riaa.com – Recording Industry Association of America

Carol Simpson’s “Copyright Basics for Schools” – Linworth Publishing

Royalty Free Music available through Eastern Suffolk VRC and TekData.

Requirements for a royalty free music collection

Written license

File ownership

Podcast and broadcast rights

Right to duplicate end projects

Right to sell end projects within education

Visit www.soundzabound.com

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