<<<-- Originally posted by Rob Belics : What I meant by 'pay to view' was the theatre's film. If you can't see the film unless you pay to see it, how can you get 'fair use' to use it in your project? Besides, you are only allowed a limited portion of it in the first place. -->>>


Well, you typically can't incorporate copyrighted music into your piece without buying the song somehow, but there are certainly Fair Use instances regarding the use of copyrighted music.

Considering that (for the most part) the only way to incorporate any movie into a work is to spend money (buy a ticket or buy a DVD/VHS) -- yet there are certainly Fair Use exceptions to using movie footage -- then the "pay to view" argument doesn't hold up. You can't watch the DVD unless you buy it, but you still could probably use a snippet of Star Wars in an academic discussion of the "hero's journey" archetype without being sued.

<<<-- Originally posted by Rob Belics : The only thing is, if I seriously question this idea of "backup copies" of CDs and DVDs. My son has a hundred DVD and videotape movies and none have ever gone bad.

I understand the "what if" reasoning but, to tell the truth, the only time I've ever copied anything was to give it to someone else so they didn't have to buy or rent a copy. -->>>

I've had plenty of dvds go bad (owned and rented). I doesnt take much to scratch the reading surface. Btw the RIAA is even opposed to you simple letting someone borrow it let alone make a physical copy of it.

As for this guy, it always seem strange that they pursue people who are using it for artistic purposes that doesn't endanger the livelyhood of the industry. Hell these corporations and industries use our public infrastructure (airwaves) and turn around and act like the own everything. Reminds me how Disney blocked the release of a cartoon as public domain after its copyright expired. They just lobbied and got another 50 years tacked on. They will probably block its release in another 50 years. The ironic thing is most of their stories and characters were lifted from the public domain (fairy tales) and now they act like they own them.