[selowitch]

Under what circumstances can one make use of commercial, legally bought music (e.g., stuff downloaded from iTMS) in non-commercial, original video production (say, in a video of my wedding)? I heard somewhere that you can use up to 30 seconds of a song without paying royalties.

Is that true, or just an urban legend? I really want to make sure I stay within the bounds of the law and also industry ethics, such as they are....

[analogika]

Urban legend.

There are no circumstances OUTSIDE of fair use within a documentation - such as a news report or a review ABOUT the piece, and even then only with proper attribution - where use of copyrighted material without authorization is legal. Even thirty seconds, or twelve bars (as the other half of the urban legend goes).

That said: if it's a private video that won't be sold (except possibly to recover material costs), I don't think anybody would ever come after you.

-s*

[selowitch]

Originally Posted by analogika

Urban legend. That said: if it's a private video that won't be sold (except possibly to recover material costs), I don't think anybody would ever come after you.

Sure. But merely because the law is unlikely to be enforced doesn't mean we shouldn't follow it. And even though I feel justified using music I own in a private wedding video that I won't be selling does not mean I am actually justified.

[anthonyvthc]

Originally Posted by selowitch

Sure. But merely because the law is unlikely to be enforced doesn't mean we shouldn't follow it. And even though I feel justified using music I own in a private wedding video that I won't be selling does not mean I am actually justified.

If it is music you purchased and you are using for your own video (which will not be sold, only distributed to friends), there would be no reason to question the legality. If you are making a video for someone else (especially if they are paying you to do it), then you cannot use the music. You could contact the various licensing agencies (BMI, ASCAP, SESAC) to see what the charge would be for a one-use license. Now, if you plan to continue doing wedding videos, then you should pay the yearly fees to these companies for unlimited use of the songs they license.

[selowitch]

Originally Posted by anthonyvthc

If it is music you purchased and you are using for your own video (which will not be sold, only distributed to friends), there would be no reason to question the legality.

I have no intention of doing this except for my own private, noncommercial use (it's my wedding and I wish to share it with friends and family only at no charge.) Not that I don't believe you entirely, but do you by any chance have a source for that legal info?

[MountainMac]

First let me state that I am in no way, shape, or form a copyright lawyer.

That being said, copyright law is an extremely complicated and ever-evolving area of expertise. There are no hard and fast answers because the meaning and application of the laws are constantly being hammered out via court cases. Two questions you should ask yourself when using copyrighted material in a work of your own are 1)Is it within my legal rights to use this work? and 2)How likely is it that the owner would sue me if it's not? You've already stated that "merely because the law is unlikely to be enforced doesn't mean we shouldn't follow it," so I'm assuming the answer to question 2 is moot to you. (But just in case you're wondering, the answer, in your scenario, is "about as likely as porcine flight.").

Since you want to do the right thing, look at the intention behind copyright law. It's to prevent someone from illegally or unethically profiting from the work(s) of another party. Since you won't be selling your own wedding video (no offense, but I'm certainly not going to stand in line to buy a copy), I think you can sleep a little easier at night telling yourself that you're not defrauding any artist out of the revenue that's rightfully theirs, and you know that the RIAA isn't going to come break down your door because you threw a sample of "Mambo #5" into your wedding video.

My 2¢

MM

[anthonyvthc]

Originally Posted by selowitch

I have no intention of doing this except for my own private, noncommercial use (it's my wedding and I wish to share it with friends and family only at no charge.) Not that I don't believe you entirely, but do you by any chance have a source for that legal info?

Sorry, don't have any documentation handy, but I worked at a radio station for about 4 years and we dealt with this kind of thing all the time. I also recently attended a meeting with an executive from ASCAP and I asked many copyright related questions (generally from the POV of the artist).

[stevesnj]

I go to this great site about DV video and they did an article on this issue...heres a portion RE: Fair use;

Postproduction: Music, editor, and footage

During postproduction, producers will probably also be using music, stock footage, animation, and the services of an editor or other artists. It's clearance time again.

The subject of music clearances was covered by Jay Rose in "Copy Rites" (Audio Solutions, Aug. '03 DV), so I won't address it in detail here. The important thing to remember about music licensing is that the work of seeking permissions is doubled. Any piece of recorded music actually contains two copyrights: a copyright in the musical composition and a copyright in the recording itself.

In order to use a piece of music, a producer must secure several licenses: a synchronization license from the music publisher, which allows the producer to use the musical composition in an audiovisual work; a master use license from the recording company, which allows the producer to use the particular recording in the film; and a videogram license from the publishing company, which allows the producer to make and sell video copies of the film that contains the publisher's composition. In addition, performance fees may have to be paid to the music publishing company.

Because of the bureaucratic and financial burden of clearing music, many producers opt to use stock music or royalty-free music instead. With this kind of music, the rights can be cleared in one phone call to the music company.

One frequent problem area is the use of preexisting footage. Even otherwise-savvy producers may make the mistake of assuming that just because they own the physical footage to a movie (i.e., in their personal DVD or VHS movie collection), they also own the copyright to it. Nothing could be further from the truth. The ownership of a legal copy of a movie merely gives you the right to watch that footage. It doesn't automatically give you the right to create another movie with it.

Although it's true that any copyright-protected material may have some portion taken and used to create other works under the fair use doctrine, just how much can be taken, and for what purpose, is determined by the court-after the lawsuit has been initiated. At that point, you've probably already damaged your relationship with your distributor, who is looking to avoid a lawsuit in the first place. The solution? Our old friend, the copyright license.

Just like directors and actors, an editor has the potential of staking a claim to a film or video's copyright. To avoid this, a producer should take the same measures as with his other crew contracts: include in the editor's contract a work for hire/copyright assignment provision.

Fair Use

A certain portion of any copyrighted work may be taken without the author's permission, under the fair use exception. Typical examples of fair use include using a portion of a copyrighted work for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.

Even though your project may fall into one of these categories (e.g., news reporting), you still don't have a blanket license to appropriate copyrighted works with impunity. What is considered fair use is not always clear. Only a court can make the final decision that an unauthorized use of copyrighted material is fair use.

Courts will give weight to the following four factors in determining fair use: "the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of the commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; the nature of the copyrighted work; the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work." Title 17, United States Code, section 107.