I'm not aware of any case in which an auto manufacturer has pressed copyright for vehicle use in films, is anyone else?

Imagine Dodge raising a fuss over the Bluesmobile falling apart!

Hi, thanks or the response. Surely there must be some laws surrounding it though, no? I mean, I assume I just can't blatantly stand right in front of an Audi logo in a film...or does it matter only if the film plans on being distributed? My film of course will not be, but I do plan on doing the festival and online route and I don't want an issue to arise later.

Moved the thread hoping it will attract a bit more responses..

Copyright music not in ASCAP,BMI, or SESAC
 

Hey,
Question here. I can't find the music I want to use in any of the big three databases or NMPA. So if i understand the information posted here, I need to secure the rights by going to the artist directly, right? I am attempting that as we speak, (naturally haven't heard back) but I am producing a very small production, maybe 1000 copies max for profit and am trying to cover the music end. Any advice on this situation? Techniques, experience? I'm almost in the student category, but I would guess the profit part would make a difference.

Any and all info is greatly appreicated.

Contact the Harry Fox Agency to establish if the work might be copyrighted. Do a search here, or Google and you'll find their contact information. Being a student doesn't absovle you from copyright liability.

Copyright permission?
 

I am putting together a small piece for a local auto parts store. It will be an informational video, and will also cover a race team sponsored by the shop.

This will not be sold for profit, but rather will be distributed as a freebee and entertainment piece to certain online customers. The final piece will be distributed as a DVD. The circulation will be 200 to 500 copies the first year.

Problem is, I have NO music or sound to pull from. I've seen other "race type" videos that have mainstream music used in them. Music I know is copyrighted. These are videos sold for profit and have a relatively low circulation, perhaps 1000 to 5000 copies.

Are these people just ignoring the copyright, or are they likely actually asking for permission?

I would like to ask permission, but how would I even go about it? Who do I contact if it's a big major production company? How much should I expect to have to pay for rights to use a song for a piece like this? I know these big houses are big bucks, and there's no way I can foot a multi-thousand dollar tab for a single song on a free promo video for a small shop in smalltown America.

If I just wanted to go "royalty free" - where are some good places to look? I know there are lots of royalty free posts here at dvinfo, but most of the music I look at is major cheeze ball sounding, or they want $1000 to download a single song piece - too expensive for a small production like this.

Any advise? Thanks. I'm totally lost on this.

Kevin,

LOTS of posts on this topic. Suggest you do a search for copyright. You'll get enough reading material go keep you busy for the next few hours! Especially lucky on this board to have a practicing copyright expert adding valuable comments (THANKS Paul T)

Kevin,

Go take a look at SmartSound. Not bad music. . . a lot of it comes from the Music Bakery. Very easy to use.

You can find music from $20 per track to $2,000 per needle drop.

Do a Google search for needle drop or royalty free music.

Copyright $ Trademarks Infringement Story (Matt Drude vs K Street)
 

There are always a lot of questions about using trademarks and copywrited material. Here is a good story subject at the FindLaw website.

Matt Drudge Versus "K Street":
Does the Internet Maverick Have a Claim Against the Boundary-Testing Show? by Julie Hilden.

Copyright question
 

I hope a person on this site can answer this question for me. Let's say I'm filming in a bar. There is music being played by a DJ, does that fall under any copyright laws? How would that work? Is there anything I need to do? Any help would be great.

Do a search for incidental reproduction and you'll find what you're looking for. Paul Tauger has posted on it several times.

One more for the Copyright Gurus
 

I´ve doing some search on a doubt I have but I can´t find a straight answer...

So, I have a script where a character whistles a known song.

Strictly Legally speaking...
Can I do this without having to pay or get permissions?

Unfortunately, if he whistles it you have to pay for use of the song.

Fortunately, this is a little easier than paying for the performance of that song by the orinigal act...

Every once in a while you'll see a movie where a character sings a couple lines of a tune and invariably you will see that listed in teh credits:

Roxanne
Written by Sting
Performed by Eddie Murphy

And they are paying for those couple lines....

Of course, if you are just showing it at home you have no problem. But if you try to sell it or submit it to a contest or festival you will likely get booted if you don't have it all in order.

I don't know the exact process for licensing it... but you should check out www.ascap.com or www.bmi.com. They handle licensing... basically every song you have every heard publicly (I am not exagerating) is in the database of one of those organizations. They are tough too... ASCAP tried to sue the Girl Scouts one time saying that they needed to pay royalties for the songs scouts were singing around the campfire (not exagerating there either).

It could be that they only handle the compulsory licensing (radion play, live performance) and other groups handle film... someone else please chime in if they know.

Good luck.

<<<-- Originally posted by Barry Gribble :.... They are tough too... ASCAP tried to sue the Girl Scouts one time saying that they needed to pay royalties for the songs scouts were singing around the campfire (not exagerating there either).
Good luck. -->>>

I´ve laughed for about two minutes on this one...
Man, I´m a musician... I know how hard it is.. and I don´t want somebody making money out of my music and not getting my share... but this guys sometimes are just ridiculous.

Anyway... I am not paying for a 20 sec whistling... I either change the song to something original... or make the guy whistle it almost like it and have a line like:
"Are you whistling Roxane by Police?"
"Hmm... no you got that wrong... this is an ancient Celtic Song my grandma song to me"....

(Or I could just make the guy whistle it.... and let myself get sued... mmmm.... I could use a little publicity here... mmmm)
Did I just wrote my thoughts.. Doh!!

I wouldn't go near it Federico. Of course, if you're in Spain, I don't know what the laws are there. In the US, it's a no no. Maybe a fair use, but who wants to risk it when you can never tell what a fair use is for sure until the issue's gone to court? I don't even think the automatic licensing system by Harry Fox agency would cover this. Sorry.

That girl scouts case is ludicrous though. Big difference.

Oh, I guess I should put a smiley when I´m joking... I was trying to be a bit humorous... but I think I´m not... well I´ll just keep trying..

Anyway, I´m not doing it... Of course I am not going to get me in trouble for 20 secs of whistling... I don´t know the laws around here neither, but I´m a musician.. I´m pretty sure I can come up with some nice whistling...

Allthough, It will be nice to use it.
The whistling of that particular song has a meaning in the whole character personality, and the lyrics (for whoever knows the song) actually have a lot to do with the story...

I guess one should not get inspiration with copyrighted material...

Let´s best not say the name of the song loud... maybe ASCAP or SGAE (those are the Spanish Inquisition of Copyrights) will come after me for inspiring my charachter in a copyrighted song.

<<<-- Originally posted by Barry Gribble :.... They are tough too... ASCAP tried to sue the Girl Scouts one time saying that they needed to pay royalties for the songs scouts were singing around the campfire (not exagerating there either).
Good luck. -->>>

Yes... it does seem crazy, but it makes a bit more sense than the surface suggests...

If you own a copyright, you have to enforce it, or you actually lose the right to. Someone down the road can say "Well the girl scouts sang the songs, and they never asked for a royalty... how can they ask it of me?" and get off. It was a huge PR nightmare for them though, and I believe they dropped it.

proper video format for copyright reg.
 

For security, I like to pay the $30 and get my videos registered with the Copyright Office. My only question regards what format to send the videos in on. This page http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ45.pdf (bottom left of page 4) lists the required formats in order of preference. Unfortunately, neither DVD or miniDV are listed as accepted. Therefore, the only format I can use/afford is VHS. Does anyone have information on a more updated list that includes miniDV or DVD? Are DVDs classified the same as videodisks (which technically refers to the old laserdisks)?
I'm just hoping to submit a higher quality copy than a VHS dub. Any help would be appreciated.

To the best of my knowledge the format requirements have not changed from what is published on the site you reference. Quality is not really an issue. I would be more concerned with the archival qualities of the format, in other words how long the tape will last. A pro grade of VHS tape should last 20 to 25 years at a minimum if stored properly.

Excellent, that was the answer I was looking for.

Music and copyright
 

What's the farthest I can take someone else's song? What I mean is... I know if I keep my video private I can do anything I want, but where is the line drawn as far as using someone's copyrighted material? I am shooting a movie (for fun) with my friends and I am going to put in some music that i got from a CD. What can I NOT do with it? Can I use it in a portfolio? Can I send it to people to get my name out as long as I am not going for money? What's the deal?

Do a search under Paul Tauger here on the forum. Long threads about copyright issues are hashed and re-hashed.

Re: Music and copyright
 

<<<-- Originally posted by Scott T Anderson : What's the farthest I can take someone else's song? What I mean is... I know if I keep my video private I can do anything I want, but where is the line drawn as far as using someone's copyrighted material? I am shooting a movie (for fun) with my friends and I am going to put in some music that i got from a CD. What can I NOT do with it? Can I use it in a portfolio? Can I send it to people to get my name out as long as I am not going for money? What's the deal? -->>>

Here's the quick skinny.

NO.

:)

Bascially, you cannot do anything with it, except listen to it. When you buy music, that is all you are getting the rights to do with it. That is where the line is drawn.

The truth is of course, that you can really do whatever you want. If you are just watching it yourself or with friends, no-one is really going to know or care. That might be as far as I would go. I would not put it up on the web and I would NEVER use music I didn't have the rights to in my portfolio. I cannot think of anything less professional, except stealing video as well.

There are lots of sources of cheap, or free music out there. If you really need some, check with local bands as well.

Yeah, what Dylan said.

;)

Remake copyright suit by Eminem
 

DETROIT -- A federal judge in Detroit has ruled that Eminem can proceed with copyright infringement claims against Apple Computer and other companies.

An ad for Apple's i-Pod music player and i-Tunes music service featured a boy singing the rapper's song "Lose Yourself." The commercial had been running last year on MTV, and on Apple's Web site.

The judge's ruling said Eminem's case can proceed against several companies, including MTV parent Viacom, and an advertising agency.


Apple had used the ad despite the fact that the company had failed to get Eminem's permission for the campaign. A lawyer for the defendants said no viewer would think Eminem is endorsing the i-Tunes service.

HEH
 

The lawyer's comment is the best. Very nice attempt to change the issue into something other than the copyright infringement it so obviously is.

How is this any different from any of us using copyrighted material in our video productions? Apple and Viacom can afford better lawyers, and therefore can ignore the law, that's how! To run the commercial for well over a year too, that is just arrogance.
I'm an Apple guy and all, but I hope Eminem comes out on top here. Regardless of how I feel about his music, I think he is in the right.
Michael

Why can they go after MTV? MTV didn't make the ad, they just
sold a timeslot to someone else. Are they liable for what they
put in that timeslot?

Well, in US, they can go after everybody the product passes thru. It is a well-designed system by wealthy lawyers, judges, and politicians to stifle innovation and free market. :-)

Music Copyright in Films
 

G'day,

I'm considering using an old radio recording (mp3) of "The Teddy Bears Picnic" in an upcomming film project. I've only used music by friends in the past and was wondering what the copyright issues were with old recordings of old songs.

Can anyone help?

What if I used a mechanical music box that played the tune?

Good question Shane. It's been covered quite a few times here. If you do a search in this forum using the terms music and copyright, you'll find a dozen threads with complete answers. To give you a quick rundown:
1) You need permission from whoever owns the rights to the original radio recodring in order to use it legaly.
2) If it is from a music box, it may be old enough that the melody is part of the public domain and can be used free. You'll have to do a little searching though.

I think if you used a mechanical music box the threading in the box would still qualify as someone's 'recording'. So then you would have to check to see if those rights are still active.

I have been wondering something similar... suppost you have a subject in your film that is whistling or singing a few bars of a song? For example, if I were to show an individual in the film whistling/singing a few bars of "Wasting away again in Margeritaville" (sorry, but I saw Jimmy Buffet on Today and it's the only thing I can think of :)).

I've been wondering this... anybody know the answer? And the song would be not related to the movie in any way, just having a regular scene from a movie.

It would be copyright infringement, if done without a license.

Another darn copyright question
 

Does the music (or sound) from the shower scene in Psycho (you know, "wheet wheet wheet wheet") have a copyright? I think it might be part of a longer piece of music so I'm assuming yes. I've heard it (or something similar) in commercials and other movies, how do they do it? If you want to use something similar, how different does it have to be (considering it's only a note or two played on a stringed instrument)?

Bottom line is that this music (or sound) would fit perfectly in a scene from a short I'm making, but I will not steal someone else's work. Thanks if you can answer this.

I think perhaps it falls under parody use. If you are not appropriating the music and saying it is yours, you are just commenting on the music (or rather, the larger film) satirically. Everyone knows that music is from "Psycho".

EDIT: to backtrack, I know people use the notes from Jaws as well but I've heard them slightly altered so that they are not quite the same but still distinctively Jaws.

There have been cases of melodies consisting of four notes being given copyright protection. It all depends on the context. I'd have to hear the sounds you're referring to to be sure though.

Thanks for the info. Like most copyright issues, its a tangled web. So I'll just go a different direction, but I do appreciate the thoughts.

Copyright Issues?
 

Guys,

I've been playing around with making some videos using popular copyrighted songs. If I share these with people via internet or DVD I assume that violates the copyright of the song correct?

I'd like to post one here for suggestions on improvement but dont want to break any laws...

I've moved your thread to the correct business forum. The question
has been asked and answered here a lot of times as well.

As you guessed that is illegal. You need to acquire the song
rights and the performance rights and whatever is attached.

got it... Thanks