Chris Fahey wrote:
quoted 9 lines In the US, at least,
> > > In the US, at least,
> > > it is not infringement to cover a song, even without the
> > > permission of the song's originator.
>
> Maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't
> the above statement absolutely 100% wrong?
>
> You can't even sing Happy Birthday on TV without paying
> somebody.
Oh, yes, you absolutely have to pay someone. But you don't need their
permission. I am still not a lawyer, but if you want to cover someone else's
song, you can get what's called a "compulsory mechanical license," which you can
get once a song is released in the US, and once you get one, you can cover the
song. You must pay for every copy of the song you make, and credit the writer
on the media, but the artist's or publisher's permission is not required.
Apparently, this is the distinction in the Sony Germany vs UR case that I
missed, that Sony had promos being sold in retail stores for which they were not
crediting or paying DJ Rolando. That was just stupidity on their part.
I researched a couple of web sites for this information. Email me if you want
the addresses.
John Thelin wrote:
quoted 10 lines Chris Fahey wrote:
> Chris Fahey wrote:
>
> > You can do a *parody*
>
> Yes, you have to pay the composers when you do a cover,
> but no one can stop you from doing one. _However_, you
> cannot make any major changes to the song without
> getting the original writer's permission (although this seems to
> apply more lyrically than musically), hence you can't do a
> parody version without clearing the changes.
2 Live Crew won a landmark Supreme Court case over this one, protecting their
right to do a somewhat off-color parody of Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman."
Parody is protected fair use under copyright law. See
http://www.benedict.com/audio/crew/crew.htm for details.
--
Adam J Weitzman, NewsEdge Corp. (soon RoweCom Inc.)
http://www.newsedge.com -
http://www.individual.com
"Humor is the best way of dealing with complete and
utter nonsense." - John Lydon
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