useing Copyright protected music.

[[527]phil]

Well I think i have an easy question for you guys. Is it alright to use copyrighted music on a flash intro? I don't want to use the whole song, just about 20 seconds of it. And if it's not legal, how would I go about getting permission?

[Nitroxextreme]

You need to be alittle bit more specific....what is this flash intro for?

[Noah Kleinberg]

Originally Posted by [527]phil

Well I think i have an easy question for you guys. Is it alright to use copyrighted music on a flash intro? I don't want to use the whole song, just about 20 seconds of it. And if it's not legal, how would I go about getting permission?

I've heard in the past that you can use under 30 seconds if you're not selling the thing you put it in. Could be wrong, you might want to wait for someone who knows more.

[[527]phil]

The flash intro is going to be for my teams website which is strictly for our team. And can anyone verify what Noah said? because if thats the case I'll be very happy .

[Rohith Surampudi]

well to avoid the issue all together, why not just email the director of the band, or owner of the copyright and explain what you are using it for, they are ususally pretty open to the idea.

Save the haste, and chance of breaking copyright violations and take 10 minutes to write the email

[KelliV]

Originally Posted by Rohith Surampudi

well to avoid the issue all together, why not just email the director of the band, or owner of the copyright and explain what you are using it for, they are ususally pretty open to the idea.
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I have been writing bands for copyrights all year long for school and have not gotten any rights, in fact I have been told that if I do use the music I will be brought to court. Yes, I did tell them it was for school and it was NFP but they still said no.

I do, however, reccomend visiting Creative Commons anything there can be used for free and will not get you into unwanted legal battles.


Also... check to see if your school has a partnership with a distrubuter (ie: BMI) ... I know Columbia does, some high schools may. You can then use any music from there as long as you do not sell whatever you are using your music for.

-Kelli

[thegathering]

This is a quote that is attempting to address that same issue you're posing:

Originally Posted by google

The music industry has made the process of getting permission for use relatively straightforward through a few industry associations that arrange for permission to use entire libraries of music.

Here are the three main ones listed:
ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers – http://www.ascap.com

BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated – http://www.bmi.com/

SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada – http://www.socan.org.




See if what you are wanting to use falls under those organizations and ask them for permissions. That seems to be a safer (and more reliable) alternative than emailing an artist which you then have no permissions in writing.

On the ASCAP site for example, you can see a list of contacts you can email concerning various licensings and issues: http://www.ascap.com/contactASCAP.html

[The Haser]

I'd say its fine as long as you aren't using it to win/obtain something.

Downloading music in Canada is legal too.

[Ian Curtis]

If only one copy of your derivitive work, were to exist for eductional purposes, and it used less than 10% of the song, with a maximum length of 30 seconds, yes, it would be legal. If it's going on the internet, it's not legal, as more than one copy of the work will exist. If the song is 3 minutes long, you're limited to 18 seconds of song, anyways, if it was for eductional use with only one copy existing. So, just don't do it.

Originally Posted by The Haser

I'd say its fine as long as you aren't using it to win/obtain something.

Downloading music in Canada is legal too.

Is it legal, or is it just a similiar sitution to the UK, where in order to charge you for it, they need to prove that they are losing money (ie. prove that you would have bought the song if you didn't download it)?

[chris31]

Theres enough free music you can use. Just use that or wait till you have gotten the OK from the copyright holder saying you can use there work.

[[527]phil]

I'm trying to find the e-mail addresses for the company that published the song. I want to use a snippet from Neodammerung from the matrix reloaded. I'm only going to use 18 seconds out of a 5 minute 58 second song. so hopefully they don't mind. And I've been looking on Freeplay.com for some suitable songs. Can anyone suggest any other sites to check?

[The Haser]

(To Chris)

As far as I know, it's completely legal, but of course I guess there's limits, like you can't just go and say "Oh I made this now buy it!!" type of thing. But using p2p programs is legal as far as I know.

[thegathering]

Originally Posted by [527]phil

I'm trying to find the e-mail addresses for the company that published the song. I want to use a snippet from Neodammerung from the matrix reloaded. I'm only going to use 18 seconds out of a 5 minute 58 second song. so hopefully they don't mind. And I've been looking on Freeplay.com for some suitable songs. Can anyone suggest any other sites to check?

http://www.mp3unsigned.com/

Unsigned artists are usually really good about letting you use their stuff because they want to get their stuff heard. Alot of it is really good too.

[Koko Ed]

I remember team 701 used the full version of Lunatic Clam's Leave you Far Behind for their flash intro for a few years. I've never heard of any FIRST teams running into any trouble using copyrighted music.

[[527]phil]

Personally i don't think it SHOULD be a problem for FIRST teams to use the songs, or parts of songs for their websites. It's not like we are using the music to sell something, or putting it on as if it was our own work. Unfortunately I don't really have time to deal with this. I found something on freeplaymusic.com, 5 minutes in audacity and i have My sound file. But thanks for your help guys.