Music Company Does Not Own 'Happy Birthday' Song Copyright, Judge Rules A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that Warner/Chappell Music does not own the copyright rights to the famous "Happy Birthday to You" song, which has become a nearly mandatory part of birthday celebrations across the country and beyond. Federal judge George H. King made the ruling Tuesday in response to a lawsuit that sought to have the song placed in the public domain. Tuesday's ruling means the song is now in the public domain and the company can no longer charge for public performances, the law firm that filed the suit said. Warner/Chappell claimed it assumed copyright of the song when it acquired Birch Tree Ltd. in 1998. King ruled that a copyright claimed by the predecessor of Birch Tree, the Clayton F. "Because Summy Co. never acquired the rights to the Happy Birthday lyrics, Defendants, as Summy Co.' The suit claims Warner/Chappell collects $2 million a year in licensing fees for the song.
Teachers Should Know Copyright from Wrong Know what you can -- and can't -- download for the classroom. Credit: Getty Images As tech-savvy teachers integrate more multimedia work into their classroom, they also face a thorny question: Who owns the visual, audio, and moving images they download and pop into their presentations? Get that answer wrong, and you may get dinged with a hefty fine. "I don't think most teachers willingly ignore copyright issues," says David Ensign, a professor of law at the University of Louisville, in Louisville, Kentucky. "But I do think many have the impression that any use of material in education is fair use." Fair use is a component of U.S. copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without obtaining written permission, purchasing the work, or paying the creator a royalty. It's a concept with increasing importance in the modern classroom. Seems simple, but there's a catch. Fair use in the classroom is often dependent on the subject matter of the content.
Judge Rules Warner / Chappell Doesn't Have the Rights to 'Happy Birthday' Inside every dishwasher, refrigerator, and washing machine is a little valve that directs the flow of water. For decades, most of these valves have come from a factory in the northwestern corner of Illinois, but not after today. The solenoid valve is a largely unknown but ubiquitous gadget. Hidden away in the guts of an appliance, when activated, the electromechanical valve opens to allow water into a washing machine or dishwasher, while monitoring temperature and volume. For decades, the majority of the world’s supply of solenoid valves came not from Chicago or China, but from a little factory in the northwestern corner of Illinois.
How I Talk to My High-School Students About the Internet As a teacher, I believe it's my job to warn kids about the dangers of being online—and to show them the benefits. Last year, I discussed former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner’s sexting scandal with seniors in my United States Government course. We not only considered the ramifications of Weiner’s actions– and how his inappropriate use of Twitter had truncated his political career–but I also asked my students to examine their own use of social media. They agreed to pause and think before posting anything online, and to consider the permanence of the Internet. After a brainstorming session, the class also created several questions to guide them in making wise online decisions: Do I treat others online with the same respect I would accord them in person? I then had my students use their smartphones to review recent postings on Instagram. What more can schools do to accomplish this goal? Schools should also encourage teachers to incorporate digital citizenship into the curriculum.
Happy Birthday Is Finally Public Domain, China's Official Linux Distro...[Tech News Digest] The song “Happy Birthday” finally enters the public domain, a look at the Linux distro the Chinese government is hoping to replace Windows with, people are watching fewer season premiers this year, Pebble’s got an attractive new watch, and a cat that is absolutely up to no good. Happy Birthday Is Now Public Domain Have you ever wondered why TV and movie characters go out of their way to avoid singing “Happy Birthday”? It’s because the song, despite its public domain melody and culturally omnipresent lyrics, weren’t free to use. But no more! Eight decades later, the bogus copyright claim to "Happy Birthday" has been busted. EFF (@EFF) September 23, 2015 You can read more about this decision at the Washington Post, and you totally should. What we can do, legally, is print the lyrics to Happy Birthday, without fear of reprisal: Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday dear reader Happy birthday to you! Seriously, how was that not public domain?
everystockphoto - searching free photos Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video • Code of Best Practices • Common Fair Use Myths • Getting to Know Your Code of Best Practices • Copyright Backgrounder • Recut, Reframe, Recycle • Unauthorized: The Copyright Conundrum in Participatory Video • The Good, The Bad and the Confusing: User-Generated Video Creators on Copyright • Latest News in Fair Use • Videos June 2008Click here to view or download a PDF of this report. Report by: The Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property,American University Washington College of LawThe Center for Media & Social Impact,American University With funding from: The Ford Foundation,by way of the Future of Public Media Project Introduction Background Best Practices 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Conclusion Notes Common Fair Use Myths What This Is This document is a code of best practices that helps creators, online providers, copyright holders, and others interested in the making of online video interpret the copyright doctrine of fair use. What This Isn't How This Document Was Created Back to top Michael C.
5 Good Places for Students to Find Public Domain Images On a fairly regular basis I'm asked for suggestions on places to find public domain images. I have a handful of go-to sites that I usually recommend. Pixabay is currently my first recommendation for a place to find and download quality public domain images. You can search on Pixabay by using keywords or you can simply browse through the library of images. When you find an image you can download it in the size that suits your needs. Every Stock Photo is a search engine for public domain and Creative Commons licensed pictures. The Morgue File photo collection contains thousands of images that anyone can use for free in academic or commercial presentations. Each time that I visit it the Flickr Commons collection seems to have grown. Bing has an option for finding public domain images.
Fair Use The policy behind copyright law is not simply to protect the rights of those who produce content, but to "promote the progress of science and useful arts." U.S. Const. Art. I, § 8, cl. 8. Section 107 of the Copyright Act defines fair use as follows: [T]he fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. Unfortunately, there is no clear formula that you can use to determine the boundaries of fair use. The Four Fair Use Factors 1. If you use another's copyrighted work for the purpose of criticism, news reporting, or commentary, this use will weigh in favor of fair use. A common misconception is that any for-profit use of someone else's work is not fair use and that any not-for-profit use is fair. 2. 3. 4.
Licensing Flowchart About the Fair Use| U.S. Copyright Office U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index Welcome to the U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index. The Fair Use Index tracks a variety of judicial decisions to help both lawyers and non-lawyers better understand the types of uses courts have previously determined to be fair—or not fair. The Fair Use Index is designed to be user-friendly. Although the Fair Use Index should prove helpful in understanding what courts have to date considered to be fair or not fair, it is not a substitute for legal advice. We hope you find the Fair Use Index a helpful resource. Please note that the Copyright Office is unable to provide specific legal advice to individual members of the public about questions of fair use.
New Zealand Government Open Access and Licensing (NZGOAL) framework | ICT.govt.nz The New Zealand Government Open Access and Licensing framework (NZGOAL), approved by Cabinet on 5 July 2010, is government guidance for agencies to follow when releasing copyright works and non-copyright material for re-use by others. The release of NZGOAL was announced by the Minister of State Services on 6 August 2010. NZGOAL applies to State Services agencies. A full list of State Services agencies can be found on the State Services Commission’s website NZGOAL seeks to standardise the licensing of government copyright works for re-use using Creative Commons New Zealand law licences and recommends the use of ‘no-known rights’ statements for non-copyright material. Creative Commons licences are freely available copyright licences that enable the sharing of copyright works for re-use in a standardised way and in forms that are human, machine and lawyer readable. For further information please email opendata@linz.govt.nz
Video and Copyright | Professional Tools Please note that ALA cannot give legal advice. If you need legal advice, you should contact an intellectual property attorney. For general information and guidance, you may contact Program Director Carrie Russell of the ALA Washington (DC) Office, at phone number 1-800-941-8478 or via e-mail to crussell@ala.org. See the blog sponsored by ALA's Office for Information Technology Policy in Washington, the Copyright Advisory Network: A community of librarians, copyright scholars, policy wonks. Join us. Many questions are answered on the United States Copyright Office website at Copyright.gov; see Frequently Asked Questions About Copyright and the Copyright Basics Circular (PDF). Resources and Publications for Librarians and Educators Answers to some of the most common questions concerning video and copyright have been addressed on the Ask the ALA Library Blog compiled by the ALA Library staff: Additional resources include: Use of Videotapes/DVDs/Video Files 1. 2. 3. 4.
Creating the copyright problem for teachers | Kennisland 14 oktober 2014 Last week I had the pleasure to give a talk1You can have a look at the slides I used here (Dutch only). to about 35 progressive high school teachers about Open Education, copyright and Creative Commons licenses. I have discussed this topic with teachers before, but it was the first time I came back the next day to answer any questions that arose after they had a chance to implement my tips and tricks. The result was completely disheartening and very optimistic at the same time. Thankfully, more and more teachers are taking control of their classes and personalising their lessons. The problem(s) Where most countries have exceptions and limitations implemented in national legislation with regard to education, these safeguards are often irrelevant22Teresa Nobre of CC Portugal researched exceptions and limitations in European Copyright. when the teacher shares beyond the physical classroom. The teachers’ response What can we do?