Amazon.com sells audiobooks. One of the formats is an MP3 CD. The image of an example box says the MP3 is transferable.
The answer to all of the questions is: Yes, buying an MP3 audiobook on CD, copying it, and putting the copy on a drive accessible to others, unless the CD’s license authorizes it, would be copyright infringement [1].
Is public domain based on the copyright of the work OR is it based on when the author died OR perhaps it is based on something else?
Basically, how do you know if something is in the public domain?
Thank you!
The Public Domain…intellectual property’s frontier. These are the adventures of those working with no copyright. Their mission: to use pre-existing content, to explore not being sued for infringement, to boldly go where no legal protection has gone before..!
[Insert inspiring theme music here!]
We are planning to put together a public page with information on various artworks donated to our university. We'd like to post an image of the art, information on where it is on campus, information on the artwork itself, etc.
This sounds like a great project…a public page providing a guided tour of art throughout the campus, with maps, information, and pictures to help the viewer find the works.
But you’re right, if they haven’t expired, the rights are still the property of the artist—or their heirs, or any third party they were sold to. And the digital image you create could infringe those rights.
Does our library incur any liability when a program presenter uses our facility and presents a program at our behest that includes music, either a previously-issued recording of music not original to the presenter, or a live performance of a piece of music composed by a person who is not the presenter?
This is a huge question!
I say “huge” because it has about fifteen different answers, and many of them depend on the nature of the performer, the songs performed, and the way the audience entered the performance.
But I will limit this reply to 5 answers I think are most helpful to the average library:
Can a faculty member, who no longer requires students to buy a textbook, duplicate and share (with the students) the supplemental instructional resources provided by the publisher? The resources can be both digital and hard copy.
Sometimes, an instructor will try and solve both these problems by removing the book from the syllabus, while keeping a few choice materials on hand from the instructor copy supplied by the publisher. This seems like a win-win: the students have one less book to buy, while the lecture notes, visual aids, and LMS can carry forward the valuable content retained by the instructor.
When digitizing radio broadcasts of cultural significance (such as a talk show confronting social issues), must a library, museum, or archive remove any separately copyrighted songs before posting the recordings?
This question assumes that the library, museum, or archive owns or has a license to use the overall recording of the broadcast.
When digitizing radio broadcasts for online (not-for-profit, academic) access, there are a number of legal issues to consider: intellectual property, contract, privacy, preservation, etc. But the question focuses on copyright, so this answer does, too.
A member collaborating on a conference asked for some general legal advice to keep in mind when selecting a name for the event (“branding”).
Branding and trademark questions are some of my favorite “Ask the Lawyer” submissions. Since GLAM institutions[1] attract innovators and creative professionals, new products and services emerge from them at an impressive rate. And because the people driving the development tend to have degrees in esoteric areas of the humanities, you get a lot of cool logos and names.
We have video recordings of campus speakers that we are interested in digitizing and publishing to an online platform. They are currently on VHS and/or DVD and available in the Library to be checked-out.
Part of the mission of higher education institutions is to bring important, provocative, and enlightening speakers to their communities. Over the years, this results in an impressive roster of authors, artists, professionals, politicians, comedians, dignitaries, and civic leaders, having spoken on campus.
We are aware of the requirement to have a movie license to show a movie in a public forum, such as in a public library and the restrictions associated. My question is: are there restrictions to providing access to television programming, such as news events, in a public setting?......
The lawyer answers:
There is a simple answer to this question, although it stands on a mountain of conflicting law, international disputes regarding IP, and arguments about music rights[1].
This answer was inspired by some recent questions…
In the quest to give excellent service and maximum access, librarians must apply intellectual property guidelines--a skill the average person has not honed. Library users, observing this skill (or having been alerted to a copyright concern by a librarian), may then ask for legal advice.
LIBRARIAN: We have that copy Moulin Rouge you wanted!
PATRON: Thank you! I am planning to generate a version of it with my commentary over it.
LIBRARIAN: How interesting. Are you planning to get permission, or claim Fair Use?
PATRON: Um…?
