More recently, there’s the legal brouhaha of Sony vs. Beatallica. From Wikipedia:
Considering how much power the media industry holds over our current administration, I shudder to think what would’ve happened to our civil rights had this issue reached a federal courtroom…
Actually, IIRC, “Happy Birthday” is now in the public domain, is it not?
No, it’s not.
[QUOTE=Tyrrell McAllister]
Assuming that I have now destroyed any chance for a parody defense, did my post #5 qualify as copyright infringement?
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Fair use also covers uses for educational purposes, criticism, political discussion, etc. I’ll go out on a limb and say this is probably not infringing.
This is a fascinating thread that I intend to read in its entirety when I’ve got the time. I’ve only skimmed it now, so forgive me if this has been covered (though I don’t think it has).
This comment inspired my question, which is this. Let’s say I copy a work, like a song, unchanged and completely, but I perform it in such a way as to parody it, would I be protected? I’m asking, essentially, if style or tone can convey parody, or just content?
Song performances are covered by what are called mechanical licenses. You always have the right to sing a song in any fashion you want, as long as you pay any necessary royalties given the situation.
Cecil covered it here.
What if I write different lyrics to an existing song, but not parody lyrics. I keep the exact music, just change the lyics. Can I do this if I give full credit for the music to the original author, or do I need to seek permission from them first before publishing my new song?
[QUOTE=pkbites]
What if I write different lyrics to an existing song, but not parody lyrics. I keep the exact music, just change the lyics. Can I do this if I give full credit for the music to the original author, or do I need to seek permission from them first before publishing my new song?
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