[comp.sys.amiga.misc] Legalities -- legal questions

es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Ethan Solomita) (03/22/91)

	This isn't a big deal, just a curiosity question. I
didn't know which was the right newsgroup. I have digitized
several copyrighted works. (audio, that is) What are the
legalities about distribution? Is there some ruling mentioning
that a "sample" is acceptable? What if a company wanted to
include the samples with their product, as an extra freebee? How
does the system work, basically.

	Oh yes, how long do copyrights on music last? In
particular, the Wizard of Oz. The lyrics themselves -- haven't
their copyrights expired? I am pretty sure that the performance
of the lyrics is still copyrighted. Don't forget that WOOz is 50
years old.
	-- Ethan

Q: How many Comp Sci majors does it take to change a lightbulb
A: None. It's a hardware problem.

barrett@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Dan Barrett) (03/24/91)

In article <1991Mar22.064043.24121@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Ethan Solomita) writes:
>	This isn't a big deal, just a curiosity question. I
>didn't know which was the right newsgroup.

	Probably c.s.a.audio.  I have redirected followups there.

> I have digitized
>several copyrighted works. (audio, that is) What are the
>legalities about distribution? Is there some ruling mentioning
>that a "sample" is acceptable? What if a company wanted to
>include the samples with their product, as an extra freebee? How
>does the system work, basically.

	At the moment, there is only 1 rule:  always get permission, or you
might get sued.  The law is not yet clear on the limits of legally sampling
and distributing the sampled sounds.  But most (perhaps all) such cases have
been settled out of court.  It appears that the record industry does not
want the issue to come to trial.  (Source:  the US Copyright Office, but
3rd-hand.)

                                                        Dan

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