[Year 12 IPM] music copyright

Thu Nov 16 23:56:28 EST 2006

"public performance without license" I think goes a lot further when wielded
by a threatening lawyer with backing from big bucks to put the frighteners
on someone.
The problem is that the law should be clear and "enabling".  Instead it's
(deliberate?) vagueness robs ordinary people of certainty that their acts
are lawful.
In a recent US case internet copyright infringement was pursued against a
person who did not own a computer.  The companies attitude was "pay up or
take your luck fighting our corporate lawyers at your own expense".  
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mailto:admin at cheltsec.vic.edu.au  
Cheltenham Secondary College www.cheltsec.vic.edu.au
<http://www.cheltsec.vic.edu.au/>  Ph: 613 955 55 955  Fx: 9555 8617
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From: ipm-bounces at edulists.com.au [mailto:ipm-bounces at edulists.com.au] On
Behalf Of Charmaine Taylor
Sent: 16 November 2006 09:47 PM
To: Year 12 Information Technology Processing and Management
Teachers'Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Year 12 IPM] music copyright

We need to be careful to not put out misinformation about these contentious
issues. According to my reading of the Age report, singing, or even
recording, Happy Birthday is not an offence but posting the recording onto a
website may be an offence.

Charmaine Taylor
Sunbury Downs College

Roland Gesthuizen wrote:

An
<http://www.theage.com.au/news/phones--pdas/soon-recordings-will-be-a-crime/
2006/11/14/1163266532880.html> Age newspaper report has briefly
discussedsome 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  <http://ingeb.org/> gospel 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:
<mailto:ipm-bounces at edulists.com.au> 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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