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Post by Russell Letson on Feb 13, 2020 13:34:05 GMT -5
The technical, legal, and aesthetic issues that spin out of this project make my head hurt.
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Post by millring on Feb 13, 2020 15:42:56 GMT -5
My first thought was that they can't copyright thousands if not millions of them because they are already copyrighted. They'd have to goose the program to pick up melodies that are already copyrighted. Also, what does it cost to copyright a melody? Is the process free if you know how to do it? Can melodies be copyrighted in bulk like that? Doesn't each have to pass muster on its own idiosyncrasy?
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Post by millring on Feb 13, 2020 15:43:43 GMT -5
Called it
Stamped it
For eternity
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Post by Russell Letson on Feb 13, 2020 16:20:36 GMT -5
As I understand it, copyright is conferred as soon as the item is in some fixed, tangible form (thus their storing them on a hard drive), but the registration process makes it easier to defend the copyright--ah, here's the explanation from the official FAQ: "You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. . . . Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation. Finally, if registration occurs within five years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law."
I suspect that should rights to one of their melodies ever be contested, the challenger would simply point to the earlier date of his registered copyright and assert ownership. But if someone tried to copyright a not-yet-copyrighted melody that is in their set (which they have released to the public domain), it could get interesting.
What they are trying to do, I think, is point out the internal problems with copyright as litigated--particularly notions of ownership of snippets of note-sequences, a large but finite resource. It reminds me of the issues that arise in trademark disputes, where getting-there-first allows a business to have exclusive use of a word that is part of the common language--or even of a personal name.
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Post by patrick on Feb 13, 2020 16:31:44 GMT -5
My first thought was that they can't copyright thousands if not millions of them because they are already copyrighted. They'd have to goose the program to pick up melodies that are already copyrighted. Also, what does it cost to copyright a melody? Is the process free if you know how to do it? Can melodies be copyrighted in bulk like that? Doesn't each have to pass muster on its own idiosyncrasy? Unlike patents, individual copyright applications are not examined for novelty. Also, you can take a pile of tunes, poems, books, whatever you want to copyright and submit them in bulk for one copyright fee. |
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Post by millring on Feb 13, 2020 18:56:11 GMT -5
Also, you can take a pile of tunes, poems, books, whatever you want to copyright and submit them in bulk for one copyright fee. I just got a copyright on that sentence so I suggest you don't use it again without permission. |
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Post by RickW on Feb 13, 2020 20:07:07 GMT -5
There was a short story, science fiction, I can’t remember by who. An app was built, and all the copyrighted melodies were put into it, and every time someone wrote a new one it would be checked against the existing work. It of course became impossible to write anything new, and a famous composer committed suicide because he had written what he thought was something original, expressly for his wife, and was told it was already in the database.
It’s a frightening thought, the entire concept, and entirely possible.
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Post by david on Feb 13, 2020 23:43:56 GMT -5
I do not think that I am given to many stereotypes, but I suspect that attorneys with this particular hairstyle are especially effective.
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Post by david on Feb 13, 2020 23:47:57 GMT -5
I thought we had a sarcasm button. Todd . . . .
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Post by sidheguitarmichael on Feb 14, 2020 12:37:33 GMT -5
I’ve been mulling this one over for a bit.
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Post by patrick on Feb 14, 2020 15:02:02 GMT -5
Also, you can take a pile of tunes, poems, books, whatever you want to copyright and submit them in bulk for one copyright fee. I just got a copyright on that sentence so I suggest you don't use it again without permission. Too late. I have an app that automatically submits everything I write, even down to shopping lists. You owe me $100 for quoting me without permission. (Now if it had been a work of humor, you could have got away with it, since parodies and certain other derivative works are allowed.) |
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Post by aquaduct on Feb 14, 2020 15:12:06 GMT -5
I just got a copyright on that sentence so I suggest you don't use it again without permission. Too late. I have an app that automatically submits everything I write, even down to shopping lists. You owe me $100 for quoting me without permission. (Now if it had been a work of humor, you could have got away with it, since parodies and certain other derivative works are allowed.) But the way it works in music is if it's a live performance, the venue pays for the rights. Does that mean they would actually have to go after Proboards? |
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Post by fauxmaha on Feb 14, 2020 15:45:52 GMT -5
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Post by howard lee on Feb 14, 2020 16:43:24 GMT -5
All your musics are mime:
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