Just an update: I heard back from the Universal studios. They denied my request to license the Jaws theme for the game. No reason provided. Ah well. Gotta find some other suspenseful music.
Isn’t there a difference between asking for a license to use the performance of the clip used in the movie Jaws (or on the soundtrack to same) and licensing the right to independently perform the composition that’s on the sheet music?
I can see where directly copying a sample from the movie/soundtrack is directly copying the protected sound recording work—and comparatively expensive—but IIRC, licensing the right to copy the sheet music and independently playing the notes was a lot cheaper.
IANAL, and certainly not a U.S. copyright lawyer, but isn’t there a compulsory licensing regime for those who want to perform from sheet music? (IOW, if it’s compulsory, the rights holder can’t deny you the right to perform a copy of the music; you just have to pay the licensing fee.) Looking at this primer on U.S. recorded works copyright law, it sounds like you would want a mechanical license to reproduce the work.
The US Copyright Office has the following list of licensing fees for a mechanical license. I do not know if that is applicable in your situation, but it might. Is there a reputable lawyer in your area that you could discuss this matter with?
Edit: I also don’t know if your incorporating your MIDI performance of their composition, within a publicly distributed video game, would constitute a ‘public performance’ of the protected work. I don’t know whether a compulsory licensing regime exists for public performances, and if so, what the additional fees would be.
I asked for a “synchronization license”. I specifically told them (it was an item on the application) that I would re-record the theme and not use the original. Mechanical license would not have been sufficient since the intended use is in a video game. At least, that’s as far as I am understanding the matter.
It does sound to me like a synch license is what you want. With a master use license if you wanted to use the actual recording used in the movie or soundtrack.
After reading this account of a man trying to license a Nat King Cole recording for his online banner ad, I’m not surprised Universal blew you off. From the link, the Canadian (?) agency contacted re the synch rights for the NKC clip wanted a ballpark figure of $15K. For a banner ad running for one year.
I’m guessing the Jaws rights would be similar, or even more expensive, even though the excerpt you’d be using would be a lot shorter. Crazy. I had no idea it was potentially so ludicrously expensive.
You know, this is an interesting question. If I take a few notes from the beginning of this, and loop them, this would sound an awful lot like the theme to Jaws - not exactly, but the resemblance would be immediately recognizable. Is there any way Universal can sue me for using this when there is a shark sighting in the game?
So - a followup
Here is Dvorak’s 9th symphony, 4th movement (which is not under copyright) - - YouTube
Listen to the first few notes - sounds like Jaws, right? So I took the MIDI version of this, sampled it, repeated a couple of notes, changed tempo and pitch and came up with this:
Question: if I include this sound in my game (and play it when the shark shows up), does it in any way violate Universal’s copyright on Jaws theme?
This is NOT legal advice. It is an anecdote.
A couple of years ago I wanted to use a certain piece of music on a very short video I made. I looked up the performer of the song and sent an email, and got a very quick reply where he gave me the right to use his version. He also sent the email address (there was more than one, actually) of the person who wrote the song and suggested I might get their permission, too, which I did.
I was lucky in that everybody replied very quickly and nobody had a problem with my using it, and it was all resolved and legal in two days. So it can be just that easy.
Getting permission in that case was a lot cheaper than talking to a lawyer for even six minutes. It also didn’t cost a thing, but of course I noted that I was not doing my video for profit. I did say I would be posting it on Youtube, which I did.
But note that I needed the permission of both the composers and the performer.
(This song also had words, but the version I used was instrumental only so I dodged that bullet. Which would have been, again, artist and writer.)
I can’t answer the legal question, but just for clarification how was the midi file made? Did you play the notes yourself, or is it copied from youtube, or other performance?
The symphony itself is presumably no longer in copyright, but any specific performance certainly would be. You’d still need to secure the permission to use it, but that would probably be easier to get than the Jaws theme.
IANAL, the above is a guess.
MIDI is purely artificial sound, no one plays the notes, you just throw in the instrument definitions and tell them what to play. For now, for quick/dirty testing, I just copied it from somewhere - MIDI sound is cleaner than performance sound. If I go ahead with this, I will hire someone to make a new MIDI file for me for these few seconds at the beginning of the symphony.
It is my law-student opinion that John Williams and Steven Spielberg will send teh Lawyerz after you, even if you claim it’s actually Dvorak and not Jaws.
Tom Waits once sued someone for sounding too close to his style in a Frito Lays commercials. I don’t think you appreciate how creative these litigious types can be! 