[Year 12 IPM] music copyright

[Roland Gesthuizen]

An Age newspaper report
<http://www.theage.com.au/news/phones--pdas/soon-recordings-will-be-a-crime/2006/11/14/1163266532880.html>has
briefly discussed some of the changes to Australian copyright legislation.
Police would be able to go to a market, find people selling pirated CDs and
issue fines on the spot.  Internet Industry Association has stated that
these changes have gone too far and activities that could attract fines
include playing a radio in the park or even recording a group of students
singing a song then sharing it online. It is an interesting issue that can
be discussed in the classroom.

You need written permission from Time
Warner<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Warner>to sing Happy
Birthday, the copyright will expire
in 2030 <http://plakboek.livejournal.com/55478.html> and if I am correct,
there will be no fair-use provisions in the legislation as it is currently
drafted. Singing Happy Birthday at a restaurant, a party or any gathering is
considered to be a public performance, even humming the tune will become a
criminal offense.

When you sing Happy Birthday, close all the curtains and darken the room
except perhaps for the light from a candle. Wear masks and hats to protect
your identity, perhaps helium to disguise your voice. Making humorous
additions and satirical modifications to the lyrics may provide further
legal protection from prosecution. Of course it is best to not take the risk
and enforce the singing public domain folk tunes and birthday melodies such
as German volksleiders, hymns or gospel <http://ingeb.org/> in your
classrooms.

Perhaps it would be best if we all agree kept our mouths firmly shut?

Regards Roland

PS: My saxophone playing isnt great so perhaps nobody would recognise the
tune ..


On 05/11/06, Jeffrey Lynn <jslynn at optusnet.com.au> wrote:
>
> The copyright issue is legally quite clear: you can make one copy of a
> computer program disk (CD or DVD) for backup purposes but it is illegal to
> copy music CDs or DVDs for any purpose. Technically, the copies of CDs I
> have in my car so I don't damage or lose my originals are quite illegal.
> As
> I have discussed with my students (and as Mark says), there is no logic to
> this, just law. However, the chances of my being prosecuted for having
> such
> copies are fairly remote - as the copies are not for resale,
> redistribution,
> or profit, the law is not too interested in wasting time and money
> prosecuting. The real villains they are after are pirates churning out
> illegal copies for sale and profit. That does not alter the fact that my
> copies ARE illegal!
>
> Note too that the copyright laws are in the process of being changed and
> are
> expected to be enacted in 2007.
>
> Jeff Lynn,
> Yeshivah/Beth Rivkah Colleges
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ipm-bounces at edulists.com.au [mailto:ipm-bounces at edulists.com.au] On
> Behalf Of Mark Kelly
> Sent: Sunday, 5 November 2006 17:45
> To: Year 12 Information Technology Processing and Management
> Teachers'Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Year 12 IPM] music copyright
>
> Nick Axaris wrote:
> > I was always under the understanding that you can make a copy of a music
> CD for backup purposes and not to share or sell it.
> > There should be no issue copying a song for the purpose of a
> presentation
> as the student is not profiting or sharing that song with anyone else.
> > When the presentation is over then the network manager can delete it
> from
> the network.
> > Whilst on the network just ensure that it is only accesible by the
> student.
>
> What is legal and what is logical is - as usual - mutually exclusive.
>
> --
> Mark Kelly
> McKinnon Secondary College
>
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-- 
Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead
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