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Hi,

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate forum room, so I appreciate your attention.

 

What exactly are the boundries for fair use when it comes to music usage? I would like to enter my student film into festivals that uses music from a fairly unknown artist.

Do I need to pay for copyright permissions just to enter festivals? I understand that if I sell the film or that if it is broadcast that I must pay, but what about general film entries?

The record company wants $500 a song just for use to enter festivals. :blink: That's a lot for a recent graduate to cough up (3 songs... $1500!)

Thanks so much.

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Hi,

 

Oh, this one again.

 

> What exactly are the boundries for fair use when it comes to music usage

 

As far as I know, and I'm not a lawyer, so don't hold me responsible if I'm wrong: the fair use provisions are designed to prevent people from censoring criticism by claiming copyright in material cited by a critic. In other words, you can't say something ridiculous, then prevent people from quoting you by claiming copyright on what you said, even though you probably do own those rights.

 

Again, while I'm not a lawyer, I cannot conceive of any circumstance whatsoever where a non-documentary work could rely on fair use.

 

Several things about your approach worry me. You mention that the artist is "fairly unknown." Does this mean he shouldn't have ownership of his own work? You also use the phrase "just to enter festivals." You're using the film to promote yourself and entertain others. How does this materially differ from any other kind of exhibition? Inserting words like "just" and "only" and "general" doesn't help you; he still owns it, you don't, and he gets to charge you. There are no magic get-out clauses for this.

 

> Do I need to pay for copyright permissions just to enter festivals?

 

The record company wants to charge you. What d'you think!?

 

Phil

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Hi Phil,

I apologize. I did a search in the forums and "fair use" did not return any results. Refering to your comment below, my film is a documentary. Does this make a difference? By "fairly unknown" artist I mean it's not Aerosmith or Pink or whatever... I don't expect you to be a lawyer, or to gain legal advice from you...it was just my impression that until I sell the film I don't need to pay for permissions.

Thank you again for your time and response.

 

"Again, while I'm not a lawyer, I cannot conceive of any circumstance whatsoever where a non-documentary work could rely on fair use."

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Hi,

 

Go look up fair use, seriously. Is your documentary a criticism or parody of the music? I doubt it.

 

You almost certainly need to pay for permissions just to copy the material off the disc ("Mechanical copyright") let alone dub it onto your production, edit it, and show it to people.

 

Phil

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Okie dokie, this is what I found for Laws in the US for using muisc in a student project. http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualPr...ol2.htm#perform

 

RULES OF THUMB FOR DIGITIZING AND USING OTHERS' WORKS IN MULTIMEDIA MATERIALS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES

The CONFU Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia suggest that fair use requires adherence to specific numerical portion limits, that copies of the multimedia work that includes the works of others should be strictly controlled, and that fair use "expires" after 2 years. Our Rules of Thumb acknowledge that these are important considerations, but the Guidelines numbers do not describe the outer limits of fair use. Despite their tightly controlled approach, the Guidelines can provide helpful guidance and we recommend that you read them.

 

Please keep in mind that the rights described here are rights to create unique works, but not to make multiple copies and give them out (distribute them).

 

1. Students, faculty and staff may

incorporate others' works into a multimedia work

display and perform a multimedia work

in connection with or creation of

class assignments

curriculum materials

remote instruction

examinations

student portfolios

professional symposia.

2. Be conservative. Use only small amounts of other's works.

3. Don't make any unnecessary copies of the multimedia work.

 

RULES OF THUMB FOR MUSIC

The Guidelines for Educational Uses of Music negotiated in 1976 can provide helpful guidance and we recommend that you read them.

 

1. Limit copying as follows:

sheet music, entire works: only for performances and only in emergencies

sheet music, performable units (movements, sections, arias, etc.): only if out of print

student performances: record only for teacher or institutional evaluation or student's portfolio

sound recordings: one copy for classroom or reserve room use

2. Include

any copyright notice on the original

appropriate citations and attributions to the source.

3. Replace emergency copies with purchased originals if available.

 

Guidelines For Educational Uses of Music

 

The purpose of the following guidelines is to state the minimum standards of educational fair use under Section 107 of H.R. 2223. The parties agree that the conditions determining the extent of permissible copying for educational purposes may change in the future; that certain types of copying permitted under these guidelines may not be permissible in the future; and conversely that in the future other types of copying may not permitted under these guidelines may be permissible under revised guidelines.

 

Moreover, the following statement of guidelines is not intended to limit the types of copying permitted under the standards of fair use under judicial decision and which are stated in Section 107 of the Copyright Revision Bill. There may be instances in which copying which does not fall within the guidelines stated below may nonetheless be permitted under the criteria of fair use.

 

A. Permissible Uses

 

1. Emergency copying to replace purchased copies that for any reason are not available for an imminent performance, provided purchased replacement copies are substituted in due course.

 

2. a) For academic purposes other than performance, multiple copies of excerpts of works may be made, provided that the excerpts do not comprise a part of the whole which would constitute a performable unit such as a section, movement or aria, but in no case more than 10% of the whole work. The number of copies may not exceed one copy per student.

 

B) For academic purposes other than performance, a single copy of an entire performable unit (section, movement, aria, etc.) that is

 

(1) confirmed by the copyright proprietor to be out of print, or

 

(2) unavailable except in a larger work may be made by or for a teacher solely for the purpose of his or her scholarly research or in preparation to teach a class.

 

3. Printed copies that have been purchased may be edited or simplified, provided that the fundamental character of the work is not distorted, that the lyrics (if any) are not altered, and that no lyrics are added, if none exist.

 

4. A single copy of recordings of performances by students may be made for evaluation or rehearsal purposes and may be retained by the educational institution or individual teacher.

 

5. A single copy of a sound recording (such as a tape, disc or cassette) of copyrighted music may be made from sound recordings owned by an educational institution or an individual teacher for the purpose of constructing aural exercises or examinations and may be retained by the educational institution or individual teacher. (This permitted copying pertains only to the copyright of the music itself and not to any copyright which may exist in the sound recording.)

 

B. Prohibitions

 

1. Copying to create or to replace or substitute for anthologies, compilations or collective works.

 

2. Copying of or from works intended to be "consumable" in the course of study or of teaching such as workbooks, exercises, standardized tests and answer sheets and like material.

 

3. Copying for the purpose of performance, except as in A(1) above.

 

4. Copying for the purpose of substituting for the purchase of music, except as in A.1 and A.2 above.

 

5. Copying without inclusion of the copyright notice which appears on the printed copy.

 

C. It is U. T. System policy that an immediate order for the purchase of replacement copies is to be placed on a one for one basis, and all reproduced copies of the musical work are to be destroyed upon receipt of the ordered copies. Any other method of calculating the number of replacement copies to be ordered, such as an inventory taken after the performance, is unacceptable. It is expected that staff and faculty routinely involved with performances will emphasize planning procedures so as to avoid use of emergency copying on a routine basis.

Edited by Tgraziano
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most festivals these days want proof from you that you have permission to use things like music.

 

You might be surprised how much you can get by calling the company or artist directly and pleading your case. Better than being surprised later by a cease and desist letter or lawsuit.

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Yes, I've called the artist as well as the record company, and I wanted to be sure that I couldn't just use fair use. My thoughts were that I couldn't--though I was curious.

The education part of fair use isn't particularly clear. In fact, several film professors have told their students they could use whatever they wanted in their student films because it falls under fair use. Scary, since this isn't true.

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Fair use would only apply in your case if you took a sample from the song and used it in creating a new, unique song. Even then, only if the sample is unrecognizable as relates to the original source. The same applies if you were doing an art project, using pieces of existing images to create a collage.

 

You can't use songs in a soundtrack without obtaining permission. That may involve a fee.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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On a related note, you may find the following article interesting/helpful. (I believe I found this URL on the HD-for-Indies website.) This article is about the ordeal the producers of the documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom" went thru to get music clearance:

http://blog.stayfreemagazine.org/2005/06/m...ot_ballroo.html

 

All the best,

 

- Peter DeCrescenzo

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