Oral History (Was: Re: broadcast speech)

From: Michael Seadle <seadle[_at_]MAINLIB3.LIB.MSU.EDU>
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 17:31:52 -0400

Tyler Ochoa <tochoa[_at_]law.whittier.edu> recently wrote:
>
> Speeches do not fall within the federal Copyright Act unless and
> until they are "fixed," i.e., written down or recorded in some
> permanent form.

I'm wondering whether this means that oral history interviews (ones where the subject has merely spoken into a tape recorder) would be copyright free? Or is taping thought to be a sufficient act of "fixing" the material, even though it is not "writing it down?"

Thanks... Michael

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Michael Seadle, seadle[_at_]pilot.msu.edu <mailto:seadle[_at_]pilot.msu.edu> Michigan State University Library phone: 517-432-0807; fax 517-432-1191
Editor, Library Hi Tech

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Received on Mon Apr 27 1998 - 21:40:33 GMT