Avoiding Copyright Infringement

“Only one thing is impossible…to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet.” - Mark Twain

There is nothing I despise more than being dragged down into the legalese of copyright infringement, when all I want is to work and create unimpeded. Unfortunately, we reside in a world surrounded by red tape, and one must tread lightly and with severe caution, lest you find yourself lost amidst a mine field.

There are many misconceptions surrounding the unauthorized use of published work, partly because even the legal guidelines are somewhat hazy. But we’ve recently done some digging, put in the extra hours and leg work, and have resurfaced with a soft understanding of copyright law. For all of you out there looking to spice up your MindBite with additional media not of your own creation, we strongly suggest a thorough read of this article.

Remember though, we are not lawyers. Far from it; we’re hippies. We feel we’ve compiled a fairly comprehensive list that will cover most of the MindBite authors out there. But for serious, in-depth questions, do yourself a favor and seek legal counseling.

“You’ve gotta be ƒ@ç^!√$# kidding me!”: Thing’s you didn’t know about Copyright

So, as was stated above, copyright law and all exceptions to its rule (what’s called Fair Use) are somewhat difficult to describe. Each category of intellectual property (i.e. music recordings, books, images, etc.) has its own guidelines and gray areas. Understanding the nuances of each pretty much requires a three-year law degree from an accredited university.

Still, it’s good to know the ropes as best you can. We’ll tackle this by section.

Music

Infringement of music rights is something of a hot topic right now, what with peer-to-peer sharing and illegal album downloads at an all-time high (a recent study suggests that 58% of all music obtained in the U.S. is done illegally). So it’s understandable that with a myriad of questions in the air, there are an equal amount of false answers and rumors flying around about what is considered Fair Use or Public Domain and what’s legally protected.

For those unfamiliar with the terms, allow me to clarify. When a piece of work is in the Public Domain, it can be used by anyone at any time for basically any purpose. Being designated such basically means that the work has no copyright attributed to it and therefore belongs to everyone.

On the other side of the spectrum lies what is called Fair Use. Many people are mistaken in thinking that this term applies to work that either has no copyright or has fewer restrictions guarding it than other, fully copyrighted material. On the contrary, Fair Use law deals only with legally protected work. Think of it as a loophole that makes allowances for certain categories of use, like educational purposes, that would otherwise be in violation of the law had such protection not been instituted. More on this later.

Now, the reason we’ve decided to include an article about copyright infringement on the author toolkit is because we’ve received several questions, usually about music, of such a nature that indicates many MindBiters are mistaken as to what is allowable regarding the use of other people’s material: How much of a song can I use? Is only popular music under copyright? If a work is really old, is it free to use? Can I record myself playing a “Coldplay” song and be safe from infringement?

Well, I hate to burst everyone’s bubble, but essentially ALL MUSIC RECORDINGS ARE COPYRIGHTED and use of a song, any piece of a song, no matter how long or short, must be cleared by its owners to be in accordance with the law. Yep, it’s lame, but true.

The specifics are lengthy in detail, but basically in 1972, the US Copyright Act officially “published” all sound recordings in existence and added 75 years of protection onto the works from that date. All modern recordings are likewise protected with the same time length, so, in essence, it is not legally safe to use any copyrighted music until the year 2047, when some of these copyrights will start to expire.

This protection holds true for song lyrics and instrumentation as well, so you can’t even record yourself playing a modern song, unless it’s for personal use and will never reach the public sector.

The reason people get confused about what is allowable is because of the Fair Use Act and its somewhat hazy guidelines. There are no overarching rules in place to dictate what constitutes fair use, simply guidelines which are applied in a case by case basis. And since MindBites are FOR PROFIT, it’s better that you just assume Fair Use does not apply to you and therefore no copyrighted song should ever be used without permission.

Unfortunately, clearing music rights is a lengthy and expensive process, something most MindBiters would be better just avoiding completely. But don’t fret, there are alternative courses for you to take.

Remember what we said earlier about public domain content? Well, unlike the ambiguous Fair Use laws, works in the public domain are free for you to use for certain. It’s rare for a work to simply fall into the public domain category and one should assume music is copyrighted unless it meets one of these two specifications: 1) it was created specifically for free use and is designated as such or 2) the composer of the music has been deceased for over 50 years. The latter is less important to the average MindBiter as it only applies to the composition of the work, not the actual recording. So while Mozart’s requiem is now in the public domain, a recording of the opera by the London Philharmonic is still under copyright.

But music that was created specifically for public domain use is free of all legal protection. There are several websites which host not only free music but old television shows, films, and images as well. A simple search for public domain content should turn up a whole host of results, but one of our most frequented sites is Archive.org. Most of the material that goes into our in-house produced lessons, as well as the MindBite Insight, come from this website.

Or, if you’re looking for more professional content and are willing to pay a small price for it, there are sites available for which you pay a monthly or, in some cases, a one time subscription fee for free reign over their library of music. The price range varies, but a site that we at MindBites use and love is Firstcom.com.

But don’t feel you must limit yourself to previously composed and recorded music. For those musically inclined few out there, willing to put the time and effort into performing a rock ballad of their own creation, please do so. Those willing to go the extra mile are always welcomed here.

But don’t feel you need a Masters in baroque composition or ten years experience on the road in a tour bus to be able to create your own music. Programs like Garageband and Soundtrack (for Mac) and Fruityloops and Acid (for PC) use pre-generated loops of music that even a novice can use to create interesting (and copyright free!) music to be used in anything from online instructionals to major motion pictures. Each offers some sort of free trial period, so take a test run, create a song or two, and see for yourself how simple composition can be.

The Pictures: Both Still and Moving

Similar to the music issue, you should just go ahead and assume film clips are copyrighted unless specified otherwise. If you are itching to use old, quirky instructional film snippets from the early 40s and 50s, many can be found on sites like Archive.org which have been purchased by the site’s administrator and made available for free use. But be cautious of taking clips from videos on YouTube and other free video sites, for while the content may be free to view, it does not mean you are entitled to redistribute the work without the permission of the original author.

Graphics are a different matter. Courts have ruled in the past that posting thumbnails of other people’s images is protected under the Fair Use guidelines, as long as the recreation is of significantly lesser resolution than the original work and the owner is referenced in the description. Similarly, taking graphics from online and altering them in Photoshop to where they are generally unrecognizable from the original is also permissible, though again, what constitutes unrecognizable is sometimes a gray area.

Pictures of famous works and landmarks, like the Mona Lisa and the Eiffel Tower, or people, like George Bush or Marilyn Monroe, are fine to use as the image is that of a public entity, one of which everyone is aware, and therefore can be distributed freely at the author’s discretion.

Screen Captures

Several authors have asked whether or not it is legally acceptable to use screen shots and video capture of internet sites and computer programs. This issue is similar to that of graphics. While a website or program may contain content that is copyrighted by photographers or programmers, a screen shot/capture records the image at lesser quality, and usually smaller size, than the original item, therefore it falls underneath the fair use guidelines (as it hardly constitutes recreating the original work as copyrighted by the author).

Feel free to screen capture what you may, but do so only if it is necessary to show the viewer how to do something. That’s kind of the tricky thing about fair use. It covers activity that could otherwise not take place if copyright laws were as stringent as they appear on paper.

General Thoughts: Don’t Worry So Much

Remember, making a successful MindBite has little to do with getting the rights to popular music or adding clips from old films of the 1940’s. Go bare bones; leave out anything you are sure you don’t own, and focus instead on providing solid information in an organized and comprehensible fashion, and you’ll have been successful at making a good lesson.

The frills are nice, I agree, but you want to protect yourself against legal reaction for posting something, for profit, that you do not have the rights to. If you are ever in doubt, just leave it out. It’s not worth the time, effort, and penalties that may occur if a company tries to attack you for using unlicensed content. You don’t need the extra malarky; all you need is knowledge and know-how.

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