How Copyright Works: Fair Use, Parody, and Copyright Infringement | Berklee Online

[@rickfranklin1471]

Dr E. Man I love this guy. I had the honor to work with this man. One of the best. Just hope he’s still riding his bicycle. Cheers mate.

[@KevinLynchMusic]

He was my professor at WPU when I went. Dr. E Michael Harrington!!

[@rloke8342]

It is my frustration to upload cover songs in you tube because most of the time I got the cpr claim...Thanks a lot sir for sharing your thoughts on the issue of how copyright works. I've learned a lot.

[@Andybaby]

Q: What if you A: change *some* words (eg "she hates you"), B: change *some *notes (eg from minor to major), and C: change the style (eg pop to metal) .. BUT the orignal song still clearly recognisable?

[@matthewrendle9321]

I can garge you with theft on my shina twain maybe not infrigment but theft it is a against the law as copyright will check out this youtube australia

[@photios4779]

If the song is still "clearly recognizable" then it is "substantially" or "strikingly" similar to the one that inspired it. This makes it probable that a court will find copyright infringement has occurred (unless your song is a parody of the other, in which case a greater level of copying is usually permitted). The general rule of thumb is that a court is likely to rule that infringement occurred if the two songs are played before a judge or jury and they find it more probable than not that the similarities couldn't be coincidental, so copying must have taken place. So any song that is "clearly recognizable" as being derived from another involves a ton of legal risk because it's very hard to explain that away as independent creation and pure coincidence.

[@Fireeater-rl4ep]

Copyright is freaking terrible. On the one hand, you want to protect your work, but on the other hand, people sometimes use it in a selfish and greedy manner. Most of these people are rich Hollywood idiots who have already made millions, but they want more, more, more!

[@papa_da_engineer]

Both of these videos are great! I learn so much from watching, even listening, I always look foward to your copywrite talks🔥💯💯✌💪💪👍

[@Ryanizer1000]

Also I'm particularly interested in how parody works in visual media, i.e. a comic book. Would anyone have any recommendations, as most of the parody and other copyright material that I've found typically concentrates on the music industry, which, while lovely, isn't really the field within which I'm interested in practicing.

[@nedhill1242]

Parody has been protected via the SCOTUS in multiple cases. South Park makes a living off parade.

[@LeemanStevens]

So does this mean that if you don't commercialize the work and purely release it as a free speech argument to comment on the original work, then there is no copyright infringement?

[@virtualoutburst6873]

As someone who was raised in the church this tells me a lot about the type of people who own the rights to I’ll fly away vs the rights of the Beatles song.

[@RockG.o.d]

dixie chicks use the words ill fly away and they get taken to court then settles out of court. like wtf. even if it wasn't parody, I don't see how any form of infringement would have been done. many others have used those words too.

[@Ryanizer1000]

That accent takes me right back to my Boston days

[@lindacooper9825]

Need to clarify points and put on the screen. If someone uses a 4 chord melody they find online, puts their own lyrics and vocals to it,is this a copyright? Does changing the key or adding another instrument, then make it okay to sell it commerically? I saw another video and the guy implied just changing the speed and key of the song , takes away copyright infringement, is this right?

[@photios4779]

The guy in the other video who "implied just changing the speed and key of the song takes away copyright infringement" is giving _really_ bad advice. American courts use a concept called "substantial similarity" to judge whether one song's melody infringes that of another (though a stricter standard called "striking similarity" is used when no reasonable likelihood of access to the other artist's song can be demonstrated). A stolen melody with the key or speed changed, or the timbre modified by adding another instrument. is still a stolen melody and it's likely a court will find that infringement occurred. Honest songwriters who create original content and incorporate only "generic" inspiration from other artists that are commonplace in their musical genre are probably never going to experience any serious copyright problems. That being said, if you write a song with a melody so simple that it only consists of a repeating chord progression of four chords, then it could (knowingly or unknowingly) share the same melody with a previously released song by some other artist. After all, there are only so many notes on the musical scale and only so many simple musical patterns that are pleasing to the human ear are possible. This is why it's sometimes stated that a chord progression by itself lacks the relatively modest "modicum" of original creative expression required for copyright to exist. But in reality, things are a bit more complicated because there are a few chord progressions that are highly distinctive as being the hallmark of a well known song. There is a video on the TJR channel titled "Can You Copyright A Chord Progression?" which explains these nuances better than I can. Anyways, I hope this feedback on your questions was helpful.

[@JediStockTrader]

Can a person use a imitation or similar voice to yodas voice to sell a product? voice only!????Curious

[@nordicwithus]

Can you upload a parody song without copyright claim? I haven't tried it yet but interested to know how it works

[@haayjaay3039]

Does anyone know how sampling of an interview works. For example sampling lets say 40 seconds of an interview. Would it be illegal to use it without permission?

[@photios4779]

That depends upon the specific circumstances involved. As stated in the video, what you need to do is analyze your proposed use of this sample in light of the four factors of fair use, namely (1) "the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work." (Also, if your intended use is that of parody, then greater leeway is given under the law compared to non-parody uses). To give a few examples, showing a 40 second clip of an interview in a classroom lecture because it is of great historical or cultural significance and therefore has important educational value is almost certainly fair use. It's also very likely to be fair use if you're making a documentary video and including that clip of an interview is necessary to illustrate an important point you're trying to convey to your audience. But it would NOT be fair use if you were to simply post that 40 second clip on KZbin without any context or commentary because now you're not adding any value to it, but are just ripping off copyrighted footage owned by someone else. Unfortunately some situations involving fair use and parody are not so clear cut, so if you (or anyone reading this) needs proper legal advice to know whether their proposed use is legal or not, I would recommend consulting an attorney who specializes in intellectual property law.

[@eyesic]

Can you say "hello Clarice"

[@SparkleP8nter]

Eyesic Gutierrez 🙌😆🤣 Underrated Comment Him plus John Lithgow

[@avalanwa]

Not today. 🙄

[@RHi-xk7nt]

Brilliance.

[@AmericanSpyFox]

The problem with parody is there is a fine line between comedy and just plain out cruelty. That's why the Greeks called it Tragedy.

[@bentleyemory6821]

instaBlaster.

[@raydiantmarlo6122]

Thanks for this‼️

[@thatswhatisaidCA]

Soooo to clarify, (I'm a youtuber) if I just change the words to make it funny and entertaining, I guess that's not "comment, criticize or ridicule" and it would get a strike? Isn't it technically still copyright infringement because i would be using someone's music to sing along to? (p.s. I contacted a particular artist's label asking if i could change the words, they asked to see the words, and said no. If I haven't have asked, i wonder if they would have let it go (if they ever found it). Comments?) Much thanks!

[@SheliaKingsongwriter]

great info. did not know this legality.

[@jessicapfaffl]

Hello - my husband and his had recorded a cover a popular song. It sounds like the original but with a darker twist. Can they copyright their work? If so, how?? We got to limitation requirements page and wanted to get advice before continuing. Thanks!!

[@thatswhatisaidCA]

Hi in June 2020! So many people are doing parodies. They are using karaoke tracks (isn't that copyright infringement?), or altered tracks (using Audibly lowering the voice but you can still slightly hear it). I guess they're giving up their monetizing or something, but some are big channels with nothing BUT parodies. I'm terrified to get shut down if i dare to do one! Is there a better way to do it?

[@bboymac84]

This is great

[@knotheadusc]

What a fascinating video! Thanks for sharing it.

[@Berklee_Online]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@PrinceIvanAbishai23721]

It's useful for us thank you sir

[@OrangeeOfficial]

Thank you very much for this informative video 🙏☺️⭐️

[@thechromeangel5559]

Nobody cares until a song makes a ton of money and is popular.

[@AndrodWorldMedia]

I’m writing a novel and on numerous occasions, I quote lines from popular songs’ lyrics (most often a line or two at most). In every case I give proper credit to the author(s). My son says I need to get permission in every case. Is that true?

[@absurdjunk]

Incredible lecture, masterful Boston accent

[@iameverywhere5039]

Will I get sued if I make a paradoy of a song without permission?

[@photios4779]

People can file a lawsuit for any reason, even if they have a flimsy case that will get dismissed the first time it comes before a judge! So I can't say with 100% certainly you won't ever get sued for making a parody. But I can tell you that the law (at least in the context of the U.S.) provides strong free speech and fair use protections for actual parodies that both comment upon and "transformatively" make use of the original source material. Parodies have been upheld as legal in a number of precedent setting court cases. However, just because you call something a "parody" doesn't necessarily mean a judge or jury will agree! To quote Wikipedia's article about Parody, "In 2007, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a fair use defense in the _Dr. Seuss Enterprises v. Penguin Books_ case. Citing the _Campbell v. Acuff-Rose_ decision, they found that a satire of the O.J. Simpson murder trial and parody of The Cat in the Hat had infringed upon the children's book because it did not provide a commentary function upon that work." In other words, the court didn't agree with the defendant that the allegedly infringing work met the criteria to be considered a "parody" because it didn't actually comment upon the source material itself.

[@powerofknowledge7771]

This was much more helpful than so may other videos!!! Thank you!!!

[@hustlehardermommy9675]

I understand its 3 words but so are I will survive and Don't stop believing 🤷‍♀️

[@markgobuffalo6490]

We used to have that right.

[@CaliberDawn]

Does parody qualify in art form?

[@lhs66]

Billy Bragg just did this to Oliver Anthony

[@kevinheckeler]

NiN "Starfuckers" parodies Carly Simon. I wonder if there were some stern phone calls from a Simon label retained attorney.

[@twinlion3482]

The way this guy morphs and edits other photos (kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWfOc2yQfdCKnJY) would this be considered a copyright infringement? If so, how much more removed from the original would he have to make the pieces to avoid infringement?

[@crisvirgo9472]

So did the beatles win?

[@shawnkay5462]

He said at the end that there was no litigation meaning Beatles did not even try to sue him or do anything. Joe Diffie was not even on their radar probably.

[@suski81]

now this is epic

[@AlbertSona-ReXz]

Can I read a book and make notes from it?

[@user-qh4uv5dz7i]

Wouldn’t an Homage to another creative work be considered CRITICISM? 🎭🎨🎬

[@epictrickshots1273]

Nice vid

[@diceyending4622]

By singing these songs didn't you infringe the copyrights? Asking for a friend.

[@matthewrendle9321]

Now you have done the wrong thing by me I can go for copyright infrigment in shina twin because you taken that with my consent

[@YeMinThant-mc3fg]

🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏

[@YeMinThant-mc3fg]

✍✍✍👨‍🎤👨‍🎤

[@basscase78]

wicked pissah!

[@feliznavidad4846]

Lol