Re: Student Question about Midis

B. Richardson <clovisite[_at_]hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Recently I was searching for midis to download. I always review
> webpages and look for remarks such as "public domain" or "free to
> download and use for noncommercial use". One particular sight had
> something like this:
>
> "Music recordings at this sight have been altered slightly
> (occasional note changes, etc.) so as not to infringe on the artist's
> copyright." Is this legal? Isn't that the same as saying "I changed a
> few words in the book by Nicholas Negroponte's, Being Digital;
> therefore, it's an original work and not subject to prior copyright."

I think that there is a basic misunderstanding of copyright here. What they are doing is creating a derivative work - which is one of the exclusive rights of the copyright holder. So, no, what they are doing in all probability does not get them around the copyright laws.

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The preceding was not a legal opinion, and is not my employer's.
Original portions Copyright 1998 Bruce E. Hayden,all rights reserved
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Bruce E. Hayden                      bhayden[_at_]acm.org
Phoenix, Arizona                     bhayden[_at_]copatlaw.com
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