The song that we all know and sing "Happy Birthday to You" is copyright protected. It has been around since 1893 and was to be released into public domain in 1991 until an extension act propelled the song to remain copyrighted until 2030. That song collects approximately $2 million dollars a year in royalties. Big blockbuster movies are liable if they use that song without permission; short independent films are just as susceptible. Singing "Happy Birthday" to grandma, you are probably safe. Unless of course there is a cover charge to get into G-ma's birthday party.
According to Section 102 of the 1976 copyright law, these items can be protected:
- literary works;
- musical works, including any accompanying words;
- dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
- pantomimes and choreography;
- pictorial, graphic and sculptural works;
- motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
- sound recordings; and
- architectural works.
Fair Use allows copyrighted works to be used to promote social good. In other words, there is liberty to use works under copyright for educators and research. "Without fair use, those beneficial uses-quoting from copyrighted works, providing multiple copies to students in class, creating new knowledge based on previously published knowledge-would be infringements" (Russell, 2004). A quick checklist to determine whether the use of material is fair use:
- Purpose i.e., teaching, research, scholarship, parody, nonprofit educational institution
- Nature i.e., published work, factual or nonfiction based
- Amount i.e., small quantity, portion used is not central of significant to entire work
- Effect i.e., one or few copies made, no significant effect on market
Creative Commons allows creators of music, literature, etc. to instill their own copyright law to their works, since copyright is automatic. Creative commons allows the creator to "get their work out there" (Russell, 2004). Creators may retain copyright but allow for its use in the public domain without the fear of repercussion to the user. ccMixter allows users to download original works of music, manipulate, and use without any monetary compensation. Many times the artist only asks for attribution.
Copyright is extensive and complicated. This is just a brief introduction into copyright. For further information about copyright you can visit the United States Copyright Office website.
Russell, C. (2004). Complete copyright: An everyday guide for librarians. Chicago: American Library Association.
~Paul
