Copyright Law

[realtrance]

Here's a good read, if you've ever had any curiosity or ambiguity about this issue: http://www.copyright.gov/title17/circ92.pdf Best, rt

[doug osborne]

I just read all 290 pages :p Thank you for posting the link. All understanding of and arguments about current intellectual property rights can be referred here. The one part that is set in stone: [quote] The Constitutional Provision Respecting Copyright The Congress shall have Power…To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Tımes to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries. United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8 [/quote]I am not a lawyer, and I don't play one on TV; an exclusive right, such as this, is a right with exclusions. The exclusions are spelled out in copyright law written in the time since Article I, Section 8. This is the part that can be used to explain why trading a file on the internet is not illegal: [quote]§ 107 · Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use³⁸ Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include— (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. [/quote]This is the part that can be used to explain why a webcast or stream is not a copyright violation: [quote] To “perform” a work means to recite, render, play, dance, or act it, either directly or by means of any device or process or, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to show (4) performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work otherwise than in a transmission to the public, without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage and without payment of any fee or other compensation for the performance to any of its performers, promoters, or organizers, if— (A) there is no direct or indirect admission charge; [/quote]This pretty much puts most of the RIAA's claims to rest IMO.

[Brittanylips]

Doug -- An exclusive right is not one with exclusions, but one that is not shared. The Doctrine of Fair Use allows for 4 exceptions to copyright protection -- none of which even come close to allowing file trading on the internet. The definition of "performance" in no way allows for unliscenced webcast or streaming of copyright material. The problems of how to compensate creators for their works (and encourage the creation of new work) in the digital age, and how to build a legal framework that is fair to all sides, remain. However, the passages you cite above really don't have anything to do with this, regardless of your position on the issues. -Peace, Love, and Brittanylips