Re: performance and poetry

On 03/25/99, Jen Wildrick <jwild[_at_]u.washington.edu> wrote:
>
> I have some copyright questions about poetry for you. I am working
> with a performance art group and we would like to perform various works
> of poetry from ancient (Sappho) to modern (ee cummings). We hope to
> perform on the street, in schools (K-12 + colleges), in cafes, at
> festivals and conferences, etc... We may charge admission sometimes but
> I'd like to know about free/street performance laws as well. I would
> love it if anyone could pass me info on copyright laws that might be
> applicable to our plans. Thanks Bunches!

Under U.S. law: Anything first published in 1923 or later is potentially still under copyright. Public performance of any work under copyright is an infringement unless it is expressly excused. The fact that the performance is free or not-for-profit does NOT automatically excuse it. There are specifc exemptions in Section 110 of the Act, some of which you may qualify for in certain instances; but for the most part you will need to get permission. I strongly advise you to hire a lawyer to advise you on these issues.

Tyler T. Ochoa
Associate Professor
Whittier Law School
<tochoa[_at_]law.whittier.edu> Received on Mon Mar 29 1999 - 22:19:14 GMT