25
votes
What is the legal distinction between watching a YouTube video in a browser and downloading it for personal use?
Although you aren't interested in the TOS, you should be. You are not allowed to make any copy of other people's stuff without permission. The TOS is how you get permission. First, the author uploads ...
- 210k
22
votes
Accepted
Legality of busking a song with copyrighted melody but using different lyrics to deliver a message
A song with the same melody and different lyrics is a derivative work. It does not matter whether the song is to be sung for money, or not. The copyright owner still retains the rights to the melody, ...
- 561
21
votes
Accepted
Will using a cover of a song in a film free me from legal obligations?
No, the musical composition itself (i.e., what you might express tangibly in sheet music) has copyright distinct from the copyright that exists on Led Zepplin's recording of the song. Your new cover ...
- 3,329
16
votes
Does buying a song on Gumroad allow me to use it in my video commercially?
By "buying the song" on Gumroad you don't actually buy the song, you buy the right to do specific things with that song. I couldn't find the exact license terms, but for 800 Yen (about $6) ...
- 7,336
14
votes
May I add additional lyrics to a copyright song without claiming any ownership?
general things on copyright
Copyright law is very similar globally, due to the Berne convention on copyright.
Ány country's copyright law grants the copyright to an author. Copyright is the exclusive ...
- 33.8k
14
votes
Accepted
Can a song be used in a presentation for work?
The educational/teaching purposes do not apply to any copyrighted work that you chose to include in the educative material that you might produce.
The educational/teaching purposes means education ...
- 5,759
11
votes
Accepted
How can NaxosofAmerica claim copyright for classical music in Youtube?
I know that classical music is public domain, so no-one can claim that they own classical music.
That's not quite right, at least not under US law. First off, "classical music" is a style, and music ...
- 23.6k
11
votes
Copyright transcription of public domain music?
I originally wrote
A "transcription" and an "arrangement" are not at all the same thing.
But it seems that this was not quite correct.
Transcription
Merriam-Webste definers the ...
- 113k
10
votes
May I add additional lyrics to a copyright song without claiming any ownership?
Trish’s answer covers the main point: you need a license, and the license can prevent certain uses such as modified lyrics. There’s a side note though: sometimes, you can use copyrighted works without ...
- 594
9
votes
Accepted
Performing music in public
Most countries have compulsory or statutory licences for exactly these situations. You enter a licence agreement with a collecting society, pay them licencing fees, and give them a record of the music ...
- 819
9
votes
Accepted
Are Midi files copyrighted?
They can be, and usually would be.
If someone uses a a keyboard or other instrument that records a MIDI file, that file is protected by copyright as soon as it is saved. Or if some person or group ...
- 113k
9
votes
Are the title and author of a song protected by copyright?
Facts cannot be copyrighted. Such a project does not violate copyright law, and if you're in the United States, it is protected by the First Amendment.
- 57.2k
9
votes
Is the Scarborough Fair Melody Really in the Public Domain?
Yes
Both melody and lyrics source back to the middle ages, as for instance described here. The difficulty could be to make sure you rely your derived work on a variant that is really in the public ...
- 4,865
9
votes
What is the legal distinction between watching a YouTube video in a browser and downloading it for personal use?
Copying is a necessary and pervasive part of typical internet usage. Visiting any website requires, not only that it is temporarily copied and saved onto your hard drive, but also that every ...
- 193
9
votes
Accepted
Is it legal to arrange music I don't have rights to if it is never performed?
Am I within my rights to arrange it as a cover for non-profit?
I'm not sure about that, but I do know that Broadway Licensing isn't the right source for your license. They told you you'd have to ...
- 35.1k
8
votes
How are MIDI files of copyrighted music licensed?
The midi is an artistic work and protected by copyright just as sheet music or an actual recording would be.
It’s possible, even likely, that a midi file running free on the internet is itself an ...
- 198k
8
votes
Auto-generating every possible melody to forstall copyright: will this work?
Seems unlikely that it will "forestall copyright infringement suits".
Some jurisdictions, e.g the USA, say that "Works produced by mechanical processes or random selection without any contribution by ...
- 14.9k
8
votes
Is it ok to set up a private music website without royalties?
Technically, this is infringement
Overview of US law
In the US, Playing copyrighted music in a private setting for personal enjoyment and practice does not require any license or royalty payment. ...
- 113k
8
votes
Accepted
Are the title and author of a song protected by copyright?
The title and author(s) of a copyrighted work are not themselves protected by copyright. Many libraries and booksellers and online reference cervices provide such information. Two examples are the ...
- 113k
7
votes
Are Midi files copyrighted?
I would say this is equivalent to asking is something typed on paper copyrighted. Yes or No, depending on the process that caused the text to be typed. If you copy a page of Shakespeare and print it ...
- 12.1k
7
votes
What would the copyright laws probably say about these 3 similar pieces of music?
There seems, to my ear, to be a degree of similarity between the first two works. The third does not sound, to me, very similar to either of the first two. That is not a legal question, and I am no ...
- 113k
7
votes
Accepted
Copyrighted Music, Personal Use, and not-for-profit Video Games?
My question is, because I am not making any income from the distribution of the game, would the use of the copyrighted music fall under Personal Use?
There are some "private use" exemptions ...
- 35.1k
6
votes
Accepted
Parody or Infringement? (United States of America)
The question as worded implies that if something is a parody it is automatically fair use or allowed in US copyright law. This is a myth.
First of all, in a copyright context, the term "parody" is ...
- 113k
6
votes
Is this excerpt from a classical piece copyrighted?
As the question says the "Fugue in A Major" by Shostakovich is not in the public domain. The work was published in 1950, and so would not be PD under US law, and Shostakovich died in 1975, and so his ...
- 113k
6
votes
Can musicians effectively sue politicans that use their songs without permission?
It’s tricky. I’ll talk about the general then the specific.
In general, your notion of "didn't get permission" doesn't really reflect how the music industry works.
Generally, a venue pays ...
5
votes
Accepted
To what extent can one claim copyright over a sound?
As for the subject matter (what can be protected), amplitude, frequency, harmonic pattern, duration etc. are all physical facts, and there is no protection for physical facts. The basic requirement is ...
- 210k
5
votes
Accepted
Copyright of children's folklore songs
The burden rests on A to determine that the work is not protected by copyright, and there is no fool-proof registry where you can look up a particular work. One form of proof would be finding a copy ...
- 210k
5
votes
Accepted
How do I give all the right credit to the Harry Potter company and John Williams if I create a variation on the theme song?
The Harry Potter company and John Williams may or may not want credit, but they almost certainly want money. You have to get their permission, at least for their creations. In the case of Für Elise, ...
- 210k
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