Re: Re: Song lyrics used in printed concert programs

From: Teresa Dulberg <teresa.dulberg[_at_]csueastbay.edu>
Date: Tue, 07 Feb 2006 18:10:01 -0500

Thanks so much.  I know the copyright contact person from our library you made reference to from our univeristy and have spoken with her a length.
The end result is that there does not seem to be a source that one can always go to for clear and definitive answers..there are some guidelines and some clear definitions of certain aspects, but not always a clear idea of what is ok and not ok for every instance that may show up.

Issues concerning photocopying for classroom use and course packs etc.. are fairly clear, but there are other issues such as the question I posed which are open to opinion and interpretation of the four factors factors determining what would be viewed as "Fair Use".

She told me of a "Good faith" clause in the law where, if challenged, one could argue that for various reasons that they THOUGHT their use was within "Fair Use" and can plead their case  ....but what I was looking for was a source that says: " this is legal...this is not..etc."

Frustrating a little, but understandable given the nature of the issue.  I really appreciate the response.
It would be great to hear from any other music departments out there who have had to grapple with what may or may not be "Fair use" when it comes to printed programs.

Teresa Dulberg, Music Resource Center
Music Department

Joseph Pietro Riolo wrote:

On 2/6/06, Teresa Dulberg <teresa.dulberg@csueastbay.edu> wrote:
  

Having said that, does the 10% "fair use" rule apply in these instances when
only a portion of the lyrics is re-printed?
    

As Mr. Carroll explained, there is no safe percentage that people on
rely on for the purpose of fair use.  From the mathematical perspective,
there is a good reason for not relying on percentage.  The percentage
may look small but the amount of content covered by percentage may
be too large that does not seem to satisfy the reasonable fairness.
1% may look very small but if it is applied to a textbook that has
500 pages, it could cover 5 consecutive pages.  It could be permissible
in a classroom setting but it could not be permissible in any
commercial settings.  If 1% is divided into 100 parts where each
part is 0.01% and 100 parts are spread over the textbook, it could
reach the permissible level in a commercial setting.  Fair use is
very sensitive to context where it occurs.

  

Any comments or advice would be appreciated...I need to get  this to print
by Friday.
    

Seeing that you are pressed for time, I thought I could try googling
on the key words as a curiosity:

     California State University East Bay "fair use"

After checking several web pages, this seems to be the best one:

     http://www.library.csuhayward.edu/staff/asoules/copyright_learn_more.htm

You may want to check with Aline Soules to see if she can get you
in touch with other people who are expert in fair use.  They have
one great advantage that we don't have.  They are able to see
the lyrics and printed programs to help them analyze the factors
of fair use.

It is worth a try.  Maybe, you will succeed.  Maybe not.  The library
is only third building down from your building. :-)

Good luck.


Joseph Pietro Riolo
<josephpietrojeungriolo@gmail.com>
<riolo@voicenet.com>

Number of days left until 1-1-2019 when all knowledge of 1923
in the land of the U.S.A. will be freed from their copyright
owners' prisons: 4,710

Public domain notice:  I put all of my expressions in this
post in the public domain.

#############################################################
This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to
     the mailing list <CNI-COPYRIGHT@cni.org>.
To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <CNI-COPYRIGHT-off@cni.org>
To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <CNI-COPYRIGHT-digest@cni.org>
To switch to the INDEX mode, E-mail to <CNI-COPYRIGHT-index@cni.org>
To postpone your subscription, E-mail to <CNI-COPYRIGHT-null@cni.org>
To resume mail list message delivery from postpone mode, E-mail to <CNI-COPYRIGHT-feed@cni.org>
Send administrative queries to  <CNI-COPYRIGHT-request@cni.org>

Visit the CNI-COPYRIGHT e-mail list archive at <https://mail2.cni.org/Lists/CNI-COPYRIGHT/>.

  

-- 
Teresa Dulberg, Music Resource Center
Department of Music
California State University, East Bay
25800 Carlos Bee Boulevard
Hayward, CA 94542-3064
Telephone: (510) 885-3167
FAX: (510) 885-2440

Received on Wed Feb 08 2006 - 04:10:01 GMT