How Copyright Works: Fair Use, Parody, and Copyright Infringement

How Copyright Works: Fair Use, Parody, and Copyright Infringement | Berklee Online

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6 жыл бұрын

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In this video, Berklee Online course author Dr. E. Michael Harrington describes how to distinguish between fair use and copyright infringement through examples such as “Something in the Way She Moves,” by James Taylor, which George Harrison borrowed for a popular Beatles song. Dr. Harrington also explores cases involving the Dixie Chicks with their song, “Sin Wagon.” Another song called “I’ll Fly Away,” written by Albert Bromley, is the complete opposite of “Sin Wagon”; they have completely different ideas behind them. The Dixie Chicks wanted to use “I’ll Fly Away” to create a parody. They were sued for those three words, “I’ll fly away,” even though parody is fair use, which is legal. Dr. Harrington cites a peculiar example of Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix as well. He explains how even though a title is not copyrightable, if the title is also a lyric, then it is copyrightable. Parody, according to the Supreme Court, means you have to take from the heart of the song because the listener has to be reminded of what the song is about. If you state a melody the same way another artist did (such as the Beatles), the same number of times, this is direct copying. It is debatable whether or not this is fair use.
About E. Michael Harrington:
Dr. E. Michael Harrington is a professor in music copyright and intellectual property matters. He has lectured at many law schools, organizations, and music conferences throughout North America, including Harvard Law, George Washington University Law, Hollywood Bar Association, Texas Bar, Minnesota Bar, Houston Law Center, Brooklyn Law, BC Law, Loyola Law, NYU, McGill, Eastman, Emory, the Experience Music Project, Future of Music Coalition, Pop Montreal, and others. He has worked as a consultant and expert witness in hundreds of music copyright matters including efforts to return "We Shall Overcome" and "This Land Is Your Land" to the public domain, and has worked with director Steven Spielberg, producer Mark Burnett, the Dixie Chicks, Steve Perry, Busta Rhymes, Samsung, Keith Urban, HBO, T-Pain, T. I., Snoop Dogg, Collin Raye, Tupac Shakur, Lady Gaga, George Clinton, Mariah Carey, and others. He sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Popular Culture, advisory board of the Future of Music Coalition and the Creators Freedom Project, and is a member of Leadership Music. Michael has been interviewed by the New York Times, CNN, Bloomberg Law, Wall Street Journal, Time, Huffington Post, Billboard, USA Today, Rolling Stone, Money Magazine, Investor's Business Daily, People Magazine, Life Magazine, and Washington Post, in addition to BRAVO, PBS, ABC News, NBC's "Today Show," the Biography Channel, NPR, CBC and others. He teaches Music Business Capstone and Music Licensing courses at Berklee Online, and is the course author and instructor for Music Business Law, part of the curriculum for Berklee Online’s Master of Art in Music Business degree.
About Berklee Online:
Berklee Online is the continuing education division of Berklee College of Music, delivering online access to Berklee's acclaimed curriculum from anywhere in the world, offering online courses, certificate programs, and degree programs. Contact an Academic Advisor today:
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Copyright Law | E. Michael Harrington | Fair Use | Copyright Infringement | James Taylor | The Beatles | Dixie Chicks | Parody | Miles Davis | Jimi Hendrix | Albert Bromley | Music Business | Berklee Online | Berklee College of Music | Music Business Law

Пікірлер: 63

@rickfranklin1471 2 жыл бұрын

Dr E. Man I love this guy. I had the honor to work with this man. One of the best. Just hope he’s still riding his bicycle. Cheers mate.

@rloke8342 3 жыл бұрын

It is my frustration to upload cover songs in you tube because most of the time I got the cpr claim...Thanks a lot sir for sharing your thoughts on the issue of how copyright works. I've learned a lot.

@papa_da_engineer 6 жыл бұрын

Both of these videos are great! I learn so much from watching, even listening, I always look foward to your copywrite talks🔥💯💯✌💪💪👍

@KevinLynchNJ 4 жыл бұрын

He was my professor at WPU when I went. Dr. E Michael Harrington!!

@raydiantmarlo6122 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this‼️

@AndrodWorldMedia Жыл бұрын

I’m writing a novel and on numerous occasions, I quote lines from popular songs’ lyrics (most often a line or two at most). In every case I give proper credit to the author(s). My son says I need to get permission in every case. Is that true?

@jessicapfaffl 2 жыл бұрын

Hello - my husband and his had recorded a cover a popular song. It sounds like the original but with a darker twist. Can they copyright their work? If so, how?? We got to limitation requirements page and wanted to get advice before continuing. Thanks!!

@SheliaKingsongwriter 5 жыл бұрын

great info. did not know this legality.

@Ryanizer1000 3 жыл бұрын

That accent takes me right back to my Boston days

@PrinceIvanAbishai23721 6 жыл бұрын

It's useful for us thank you sir

@thatswhatisaidCA 4 жыл бұрын

Hi in June 2020! So many people are doing parodies. They are using karaoke tracks (isn't that copyright infringement?), or altered tracks (using Audibly lowering the voice but you can still slightly hear it). I guess they're giving up their monetizing or something, but some are big channels with nothing BUT parodies. I'm terrified to get shut down if i dare to do one! Is there a better way to do it?

@Ryanizer1000 3 жыл бұрын

Also I'm particularly interested in how parody works in visual media, i.e. a comic book. Would anyone have any recommendations, as most of the parody and other copyright material that I've found typically concentrates on the music industry, which, while lovely, isn't really the field within which I'm interested in practicing.

@nedhill1242 3 жыл бұрын

Parody has been protected via the SCOTUS in multiple cases. South Park makes a living off parade.

@Andybaby 4 жыл бұрын

Q: What if you A: change *some* words (eg "she hates you"), B: change *some *notes (eg from minor to major), and C: change the style (eg pop to metal) .. BUT the orignal song still clearly recognisable?

@matthewrendle9321 3 жыл бұрын

I can garge you with theft on my shina twain maybe not infrigment but theft it is a against the law as copyright will check out this youtube australia

@photios4779 3 жыл бұрын

If the song is still "clearly recognizable" then it is "substantially" or "strikingly" similar to the one that inspired it. This makes it probable that a court will find copyright infringement has occurred (unless your song is a parody of the other, in which case a greater level of copying is usually permitted). The general rule of thumb is that a court is likely to rule that infringement occurred if the two songs are played before a judge or jury and they find it more probable than not that the similarities couldn't be coincidental, so copying must have taken place. So any song that is "clearly recognizable" as being derived from another involves a ton of legal risk because it's very hard to explain that away as independent creation and pure coincidence.

@haayjaay3039 4 жыл бұрын

Does anyone know how sampling of an interview works. For example sampling lets say 40 seconds of an interview. Would it be illegal to use it without permission?

@photios4779 2 жыл бұрын

That depends upon the specific circumstances involved. As stated in the video, what you need to do is analyze your proposed use of this sample in light of the four factors of fair use, namely (1) "the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work." (Also, if your intended use is that of parody, then greater leeway is given under the law compared to non-parody uses). To give a few examples, showing a 40 second clip of an interview in a classroom lecture because it is of great historical or cultural significance and therefore has important educational value is almost certainly fair use. It's also very likely to be fair use if you're making a documentary video and including that clip of an interview is necessary to illustrate an important point you're trying to convey to your audience. But it would NOT be fair use if you were to simply post that 40 second clip on KZfaq without any context or commentary because now you're not adding any value to it, but are just ripping off copyrighted footage owned by someone else. Unfortunately some situations involving fair use and parody are not so clear cut, so if you (or anyone reading this) needs proper legal advice to know whether their proposed use is legal or not, I would recommend consulting an attorney who specializes in intellectual property law.

@virtualoutburst6873 Ай бұрын

As someone who was raised in the church this tells me a lot about the type of people who own the rights to I’ll fly away vs the rights of the Beatles song.

@lindacooper9825 4 жыл бұрын

Need to clarify points and put on the screen. If someone uses a 4 chord melody they find online, puts their own lyrics and vocals to it,is this a copyright? Does changing the key or adding another instrument, then make it okay to sell it commerically? I saw another video and the guy implied just changing the speed and key of the song , takes away copyright infringement, is this right?

@photios4779 4 жыл бұрын

The guy in the other video who "implied just changing the speed and key of the song takes away copyright infringement" is giving _really_ bad advice. American courts use a concept called "substantial similarity" to judge whether one song's melody infringes that of another (though a stricter standard called "striking similarity" is used when no reasonable likelihood of access to the other artist's song can be demonstrated). A stolen melody with the key or speed changed, or the timbre modified by adding another instrument. is still a stolen melody and it's likely a court will find that infringement occurred. Honest songwriters who create original content and incorporate only "generic" inspiration from other artists that are commonplace in their musical genre are probably never going to experience any serious copyright problems. That being said, if you write a song with a melody so simple that it only consists of a repeating chord progression of four chords, then it could (knowingly or unknowingly) share the same melody with a previously released song by some other artist. After all, there are only so many notes on the musical scale and only so many simple musical patterns that are pleasing to the human ear are possible. This is why it's sometimes stated that a chord progression by itself lacks the relatively modest "modicum" of original creative expression required for copyright to exist. But in reality, things are a bit more complicated because there are a few chord progressions that are highly distinctive as being the hallmark of a well known song. There is a video on the TJR channel titled "Can You Copyright A Chord Progression?" which explains these nuances better than I can. Anyways, I hope this feedback on your questions was helpful.

@bboymac84 6 жыл бұрын

This is great

@AlbertSona-oy2vq Ай бұрын

Can I read a book and make notes from it?

@LeemanStevens Жыл бұрын

So does this mean that if you don't commercialize the work and purely release it as a free speech argument to comment on the original work, then there is no copyright infringement?

@eyesic 4 жыл бұрын

Can you say "hello Clarice"

@SparkleP8nter 4 жыл бұрын

Eyesic Gutierrez 🙌😆🤣 Underrated Comment Him plus John Lithgow

@avalanwa 2 жыл бұрын

Not today. 🙄

@RHi-xk7nt 11 ай бұрын

Brilliance.

@nordicwithus Жыл бұрын

Can you upload a parody song without copyright claim? I haven't tried it yet but interested to know how it works

@JediStockTrader Жыл бұрын

Can a person use a imitation or similar voice to yodas voice to sell a product? voice only!????Curious

@OrangeeUK 2 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for this informative video 🙏☺️⭐️

@absurdjunk 2 жыл бұрын

Incredible lecture, masterful Boston accent

@iameverywhere5039 3 жыл бұрын

Will I get sued if I make a paradoy of a song without permission?

@photios4779 3 жыл бұрын

People can file a lawsuit for any reason, even if they have a flimsy case that will get dismissed the first time it comes before a judge! So I can't say with 100% certainly you won't ever get sued for making a parody. But I can tell you that the law (at least in the context of the U.S.) provides strong free speech and fair use protections for actual parodies that both comment upon and "transformatively" make use of the original source material. Parodies have been upheld as legal in a number of precedent setting court cases. However, just because you call something a "parody" doesn't necessarily mean a judge or jury will agree! To quote Wikipedia's article about Parody, "In 2007, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a fair use defense in the _Dr. Seuss Enterprises v. Penguin Books_ case. Citing the _Campbell v. Acuff-Rose_ decision, they found that a satire of the O.J. Simpson murder trial and parody of The Cat in the Hat had infringed upon the children's book because it did not provide a commentary function upon that work." In other words, the court didn't agree with the defendant that the allegedly infringing work met the criteria to be considered a "parody" because it didn't actually comment upon the source material itself.

@markgobuffalo6490 3 жыл бұрын

We used to have that right.

@AmericanSpyFox 3 жыл бұрын

The problem with parody is there is a fine line between comedy and just plain out cruelty. That's why the Greeks called it Tragedy.

@bentleyemory6821 2 жыл бұрын

instaBlaster.

@thatswhatisaidCA 4 жыл бұрын

Soooo to clarify, (I'm a youtuber) if I just change the words to make it funny and entertaining, I guess that's not "comment, criticize or ridicule" and it would get a strike? Isn't it technically still copyright infringement because i would be using someone's music to sing along to? (p.s. I contacted a particular artist's label asking if i could change the words, they asked to see the words, and said no. If I haven't have asked, i wonder if they would have let it go (if they ever found it). Comments?) Much thanks!

@knotheadusc Ай бұрын

What a fascinating video! Thanks for sharing it.

@Berklee_Online Ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@powerofknowledge7771 2 жыл бұрын

This was much more helpful than so may other videos!!! Thank you!!!

@CaliberDawn 6 ай бұрын

Does parody qualify in art form?

@hustlehardermommy9675 3 жыл бұрын

I understand its 3 words but so are I will survive and Don't stop believing 🤷‍♀️

@suski81 5 жыл бұрын

now this is epic

@crisvirgo9472 5 жыл бұрын

So did the beatles win?

@shawnkay5462 4 жыл бұрын

He said at the end that there was no litigation meaning Beatles did not even try to sue him or do anything. Joe Diffie was not even on their radar probably.

@lhs66 11 ай бұрын

Billy Bragg just did this to Oliver Anthony

@RockG.o.d 2 жыл бұрын

dixie chicks use the words ill fly away and they get taken to court then settles out of court. like wtf. even if it wasn't parody, I don't see how any form of infringement would have been done. many others have used those words too.

@Fireeater-rl4ep 3 жыл бұрын

Copyright is freaking terrible. On the one hand, you want to protect your work, but on the other hand, people sometimes use it in a selfish and greedy manner. Most of these people are rich Hollywood idiots who have already made millions, but they want more, more, more!

@kevinheckeler 6 жыл бұрын

NiN "Starfuckers" parodies Carly Simon. I wonder if there were some stern phone calls from a Simon label retained attorney.

@epictrickshots1273 4 жыл бұрын

Nice vid

@thechromeangel5559 3 жыл бұрын

Nobody cares until a song makes a ton of money and is popular.

@twinlion3482 2 жыл бұрын

The way this guy morphs and edits other photos (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iZybdZyLrdG7lmg.html) would this be considered a copyright infringement? If so, how much more removed from the original would he have to make the pieces to avoid infringement?

@CanuckFluter 4 жыл бұрын

amazing... this is just ridiculous ... suing over this is paper thin.. ridiculous

@adampkalb 3 жыл бұрын

You need to be extra careful when you write a movie, or an episode of a TV show that parodies another well-known movie. Have you heard of Lord of the Beans? Phil Vischer wrote a kid-friendly parody of the Lord of the Rings, book and film trilogy, to teach kids to use their gifts wisely. New Line Cinema sent Phil Vischer a cease-and-desist letter for "illegally" parodying Lord of the Rings. Parodies are not inherently illegal, but my mom and I quickly realized what made Lord of the Beans borderline illegal. Lord of the Beans wasn't a parody like Phil intended it to be because it doesn't do anything to comment, criticize or ridicule Lord of the Rings. I haven't yet seen any Lord of the Rings movies myself, but I can bet that VeggieTales copied their story too straight without actually making fun of it. April 13, 2021, 5:01pm