Fair Use / Copyright Law & FFR

[Xiz]

(I make this thread as an open discussion in regards to a permission request by DrizzleRomanceGirl. For that thread, click here.)


Over the past 10 years of FFR's existence, FFR has relied on being a non-profit where users have been needing to ask for permission from various artists / record labels for their music to be featured in our game. However, over the past few years internet law has changed dramatically, via the inclusions of Copyright Law sections 107 through 118.

Quote from: Copyright.gov

Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair.

1) The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of 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
4) The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work
5) The distinction between what is fair use and what is infringement in a particular case will not always be clear or easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.

The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.”

Copyright protects the particular way authors have expressed themselves. It does not extend to any ideas, systems, or factual information conveyed in a work.

The safest course is to get permission from the copyright owner before using copyrighted material. The Copyright Office cannot give this permission.

When it is impracticable to obtain permission, you should consider avoiding the use of copyrighted material unless you are confident that the doctrine of fair use would apply to the situation. The Copyright Office can neither determine whether a particular use may be considered fair nor advise on possible copyright violations. If there is any doubt, it is advisable to consult an attorney.

While reading Copyright Law Chapter 1 (Found HERE) I came across this...
Quote from Chapter 1 Section 9 of Copyright Law

(b)(1)(A) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), unless authorized by the owners of copyright in the sound recording or the owner of copyright in a computer program (including any tape, disk, or other medium embodying such §108 Subject Matter and Scope of CopyrightCopyright Law of the United States 23 program), and in the case of a sound recording in the musical works embodied therein, neither the owner of a particular phonorecord nor any person in possession of a particular copy of a computer program (including any tape, disk, or other medium embodying such program), may, for the purposes of direct or indirect commercial advantage, dispose of, or authorize the disposal of, the possession of that phonorecord or computer program (including any tape, disk, or other medium embodying such program) by rental, lease, or lending, or by any other act or practice in the nature of rental, lease, or lending. Nothing in the preceding sentence shall apply to the rental, lease, or lending of a phonorecord for nonprofit purposes by a nonprofit library or nonprofit educational institution. The transfer of possession of a lawfully made copy of a computer program by a nonprofit educational institution to another nonprofit educational institution or to faculty, staff, and students does not constitute rental, lease, or lending for direct or indirect commercial purposes under this subsection.
(B) This subsection does not apply to—
(i) a computer program which is embodied in a machine or product and which cannot be copied during the ordinary operation or use of the machine or product; or
(ii) a computer program embodied in or used in conjunction with a limited purpose computer that is designed for playing video games and may be designed for other purposes.
(C) Nothing in this subsection affects any provision of chapter 9 of this
title.

TL;DR... as long as the song abides to the regulations stated above in bold, any music from any artist* under the fair use doctrine can be used on FFR for non-profit promotional use. This includes major record label artists and individuals.

*(unless the artist / record label sends FFR a cease and desist letter for their particular musical works)


These rules and regulations were not existant during the foundation of FFR's rules and guidelines. I feel that this might be an appropriate time to update FFR in accordance to the fair use doctrine in terms of copyright law. HOWEVER, I would argue that it should be required to send the artist a letter / email informing them of the fair use of their works. I am open to feedback. Thanks!

[mi40]

awesome now i can step my world 2.0 finally! !

[justin_ator]

Definitely an interesting discussion topic. Can't say I really disagree or agree with this yet, still forming an opinion.

[Xiz]

Originally Posted by mi40

awesome now i can step my world 2.0 finally! !

Remember, this has not been put into effect. This needs administrative criticism and approval before it can obviously be allowed.

[mi40]

when i was 13, i stepped my first file
there was no file that compared to my file
and no file came between us who could ever come above
it had me going crazy, oh i was starstruck
it woke me up daily, don't need no starbucks

[DossarLX ODI]

Copyright laws are notorious for stating what you can't do, but they never really state what is fair use.

It entirely depends on whether or not FFR's stepfiles to the songs is considered fair use. I still think we should ask artists for permission first so they're also aware of their music getting more popularity, etc.

[Fission]

Originally Posted by Xiz

*(unless the artist / record label sends FFR a cease and desist letter for their particular musical works)

i think this is exactly why permissions are necessary. ffr doesn't want to deal with the legal obligation of using copyright music in case this happens like it has in the past.

an admin or game manager can feel free to correct me if this isn't the case, though.

[mi40]

one day lil wayne's swat team will burst into ffr server room

glorious

[jimerax]

Interesting read, I didn't know changes of the law in USA. At least it looks we don't have lawsuit risks from musicians as long as FFR is a non-profit game.

But like some people already said, we still should basically contact and get permission the person who has copyright for the song at least once, to avoid any troubles and negative emotions from the author, in my opinion.

In case when the author doesn't respond to our e-mail for several times when we ask him/her in a legitimate way, we might be able to use the author's song until the author says no. I'm not making the final decision about this right now, though.

[bmah]

My personal opinion is that this law should not give us blanket permission for all of the potentially applicable songs. Rather, this should be utilized on a case-by-case basis. Firstly, as many people have already stated, ask first if you're unsure. Secondly, the context in which the songs you want to step originally appear in matters: how were the songs originally utilized? On a site where the music can be downloaded by anyone? On a video game you've played?

So I personally think it's great that you've brought up this law, Xiz, and we'll certainly consider that when gathering future permissions, but it won't automatically nab us all sorts of permissions without some inspection first.

[smartdude1212]

How does this effect songs/artists featured in DDR games, etc. who are already... "committed" to Konami (or whatever it is)?

I know EternuS still exists and all, but I'm pretty sure that file came before it was included in a DDR release anyway...

I've been drinking, don't mind me.

[Ohaider]

Cool stuff ;o

[popsicle_3000]

Originally Posted by Xiz

TL;DR... as long as the song abides to the regulations stated above in bold, any music from any artist* under the fair use doctrine can be used on FFR for non-profit promotional use. This includes major record label artists and individuals.

i didn't quite get that from reading it, but then again, it was pretty wordy.

it would be interesting to find a precedent to this. Does anyone know an online 'community' or 'collection', where as part of their website, they can host original stuff that is under copyright?

I mean, imagine a site where everyone liked to read. it would get shut down pretty quickly if they were posting entire books for people to read...

how cool would it be to get sandstorm in game. first one that came to mind, but the opportunities would be endless... I'd predict a huge new number of files that would be submitted. probably heaps of new players as well

[Xiz]

Originally Posted by popsicle_3000

I mean, imagine a site where everyone liked to read. it would get shut down pretty quickly if they were posting entire books for people to read...

Well that right there is against Fair Use. Keep in mind, it must abide by these 5 rules;


1) The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of 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
4) The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work
5) The distinction between what is fair use and what is infringement in a particular case will not always be clear or easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.




In your example, the books need to be portions of said books, such as no more then 1-2 chapters. They cannot be books as a whole. For a nonprofit e-book website to work, it needs to give only a portion of the book, and links to credit the book / author where necessary. (Pretty much just linking to their website / or the About the Author page). Then again, books are WAY different then music. They fall under different Fair Use laws.


Pretty much in relation to music for FFR, a cut must me made. So like for a 3 min song, it needs to be like a 1-2 min song cut.

Also, Jimerax had the correct impression of what I was more getting at in a nutshell:

Originally Posted by jimerax

In case when the author doesn't respond to our e-mail for several times when we ask him/her in a legitimate way, we might be able to use the author's song until the author says no.

It's considered free promotion as long as we do not profit off of their work, and give appropriate credit where necessary.

[Arkuski]

Xiz being a boss up in here.

FFR has been admirable in its use of permissions, and I think FFR is so great because it gives opportunities for independent artists to have their music used in the game. Let's just keep questionable copyrights in StepMania packs.

[reuben_tate]

As for a precedent, well osu! doesn't acquire any permissions iirc and from what I recall they are actually for-profit lmfao.

[mi40]

gg

[Xiz]

Originally Posted by reuben_tate

As for a precedent, well osu! doesn't acquire any permissions iirc and from what I recall they are actually for-profit lmfao.

Well, truth be told if anyone decides to whistle-blow on them, Osu! can be shut-down immediately and permanently if they are actually making a profit off of that game. Donations are perfectly acceptable because it falls into the non-profit category, but if there are any advertisements on the website, or real money purchases for levels / songs in the game (this includes online 'coin' transfers like bit-coins) then that is a huge violation of copyright law and the game owners and creators can get in trouble. If they do, they will most likely get a C&D letter. In business thats typically the appropriate course of action unless there is a significant profit being earned. If they fail to comply, then they will be in court in no time.

[reuben_tate]

Originally Posted by Xiz

Well, truth be told if anyone decides to whistle-blow on them, Osu! can be shut-down immediately and permanently if they are actually making a profit off of that game. Donations are perfectly acceptable because it falls into the non-profit category, but if there are any advertisements on the website, or real money purchases for levels / songs in the game (this includes online 'coin' transfers like bit-coins) then that is a huge violation of copyright law and the game owners and creators can get in trouble. If they do, they will most likely get a C&D letter. In business thats typically the appropriate course of action unless there is a significant profit being earned. If they fail to comply, then they will be in court in no time.

I think the money they do make might be some workaround or loop-hole of some sort. You see, the osu members can pay for a "donation" that costs $4/month that entitles them to additional features in the game. I don't know if just calling it a "donation" makes it ok though.

Another thing I heard was that the money is used for the upkeep and maintenance of the site (which could possibly be considered non-profit if the cost of maintenance is equal to the amount of "donations"), but from what I've heard, the developer/owner of the game "Peppy" has quit his day job to entirely devote his time to osu so I figure he must be making some money to at least make a living of some sort, idk.

[Choofers]

that's definitely iffy but as long as those "additional features" don't include copy righted music, then it's good