It doesnt matter if anyone finds out- It's about honestey and integrity. Autodesk will be producing a DVD that goes to each team and linking to the winners on their website. Chances are someone will see it.

As far as the rules- What rules did you read- Go to www.usfirst.org go to Robotics Comp then Documents- then look for the Awards.pdf and go to page 17. Then dont stop reading till you finnish the entire section (page 24 I think) If you dont see anything on not using copyrighted music and the still frame at the beginning then read it again! If you still dont see it- ask anyone with common sence - how much trouble you can get in if you use copyrighted music in a published video/animation without permission.

Click Here for the awards documents. I believe that the 10 seconds was released in a team update, not in the original rules because i cannot find the place where it says that you need to hold it for 10 seconds (well i might have just skipped over it, I'm tired).

Also Stevek, remember if you only use 10% of the song it is legal to not obtain permission (however it is courteous to do it anyways), so this might confuse people weather they should obtain permission or not.

Also did you send in a storyboard of your work???

I know what you are talking about- but I dont know the exact timing that is legal- I actually thought it was an exact length and not a percentage- Somthing like 10 sec. And most of us dont edit out songs to that degree. But as you say- It's still a good practice to get permision anyway- Unless it's public domain and listed as such. I used a company called MusicLoops.com or somthing like that- 3 years ago and as long as it was for noncommercial use it was fine. The past two years I got music from a friend that is a sound designer- he has a couple of disks of free stuff and some things from friends that he has permission to use any way he wants. I can see about making MP3s of these and making them available for next year. STAY TUNED!!!

yeah.. i sent the story board...

$@#$@#$@#$@# it, should had someone to check the team update... anyways, when it comes to next year, is my team gonna still be considered as a rookie?

can someone show me the team update about the 10 sec stillframe thing

Just to clear up the copyright stuff, the rule is as follows:

For educational purposes only, you may freely use 10%, but no more than 30 seconds, of copyrighted music. Note that FIRST may or may not qualify as an educational use, especially given that it will be posted on Autodesk's website. Also note that you are not allowed to modify the music/lyrics in any way, shape, or form, so you can't do things like add reverb, etc.

Go googling (I love that word!) and you can probably find some more details.

--Rob

I've already posted this once, but again - it doesnt matter wheter it is legal by law or not to use 10% of a copyrighted piece without permission - it is illegal to do so by the rules - read the consent and release form!

If you use a copyrighted piece - you have to have a permission from the copyright holder, no matter whether it is legal by law to use it without permission.

Because of my teams negligence to look up the rules until almost the due date we weren't able to finish. But that's alright, this year me and a few other students took a free class at Tri-County Tech. College for 3Ds Max and CAD. So look out for next year. Although I have seen many amazing animations out there. Still, look out for us. ;)

-Later

Can you still take music files and cut them at specific points though? Although it doesn't really matter now, we don't have an animation. This is just for future references.

Easy answer:

Q: Can you use a piece of copyrighted music, in accordance with fair-use policies (10%, no greater than 30 sec) in a FIRST submitted animation?

A: Yes

Q: If you do so, will it be disqualified?

A: Yes.


You CAN put it in. They WILL disqualify you if you do.

Fair-use or not, it's still a copyrighted piece. As Dave Lavery bluntly put it: You're screwed.

What if the soundtrack you want to use is from a computer game? I'm guessing you probably can't use it either.

I'm sure programs like MTV Music Generator (Lets you make your own soundtracks from scratch) are ok to use though.

music making progams are ok. Those beats are free-use and stringing them together would be your own material. Taking a sample from a computer game would still be copyrighted by the overseeing company (Blizzard, Rockstar, etc.).

The way to do it if using copy written music is to request permission, and include in the credits and probably in your submission envelope the express, written consent say in pretty plain English you can use...

To see the complete rules go to www.usfirst.org then click FIRST Robotics Competition > Documents and Updates > 2003 Competition Documents>2003 Award Information

our team was DQ for same reason as Jims. a few days before the deadline ur mentor said he would burn the disks and send in the entry with storyboard and all that stuff. when we arrived at st/ louis the disks were blank and corrupts so we were DQ we dont no exactly what happened but it stunk

This whole thing where you need permission......... is this a new rule lthis year? or did I just get away with it last year? All I did was site my source, not get permission.