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.
We are all in this together - The Hill's Congress Blog Earlier this month, Netflix made history with its original series “House of Cards” by garnering nine Emmy nominations, including best drama series – the first time that television’s leading award has recognized a program delivered exclusively online. Many media outlets interpreted this nomination to mean that we had finally ushered in the Internet television era now that an increasing number of consumers access programming through the Internet. Just a week after the Emmy nominations, the House Judiciary Committee held the first of a series of hearings to better understand the role of copyright and technology. During the first hearing entitled “Innovation in America: The Role of Copyrights,” the committee heard from the content community. While there was some recognition of the Internet’s benefits to users, the call for stronger copyright protection dominated the discussion. The market is working. Consumers crave online content that is creative and cutting edge.
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.
vanityfair Crain was more than an agent, Lee would tell friends years later; he was her friend, critic, business adviser, champion, and marketer. He may have been even more. “About Nelle. ‘When Maurice became ill, he asked Elizabeth Otis, who was the president of McIntosh & Otis, if she would take on—given the authors’ approval—his list, which McIntosh & Otis did,” Julie Fallowfield, Lee’s beloved agent there until 1996, told me. Steinbeck felt so indebted to M&O that he reportedly gave it a percentage of the money he was awarded when he won the 1962 Nobel Prize for literature. “During its decades of representation, M&O acted appropriately and in Harper Lee’s interests, handling the kinds of activities that are the business of a literary agent,” Lee stated in her lawsuit. Valuable Estates Today, Thomas and Gail live in a rented house, having lost the case and most of their money in the lawsuit. For many years, Pinkus seemed content with staying in the shadow of his unpretentious father-in-law.
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?
A Printable Guide To Creative Commons Something you probably see a lot of these days as you browse the internet is Creative Commons licensing. You’ll see many graphics that say something like ‘shared under a Creative Commons license’, or you’ll see a little rectangular graphic with some signs in them. Since we live in an age where most of our information comes from the internet in some way or another, its useful to know when and how it is ok to use something that you’ve found. We’ve already taken a look at some fair use guidelines (which comes along with a brief mention of Creative Commons licensing), but we thought that this handy infographic below gave a great, easy to read and understand version of the different types of CC licenses available. Keep reading to learn more. These licenses allow you to easily give others the opportunity to share your work.
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.
Walking Dead publisher drops DRM | Tech Culture The publisher of the Walking Dead, Saga, Witchblade, and the Savage Dragon announced on Tuesday that it's closing the book on digital rights management. New books from Image Comics are now available for digital download from its online store without DRM. Readers can purchase new books from ImageComics.com in several platform-agnostic formats: PDF, EPUB, CBR, and CBZ. Previous publishing agreements haven't changed, so people who prefer to buy from proprietary apps such as Comixology, Amazon, and Apple will still be able to do so. Ron Richards, Image Comics' marketing honcho, told the comics news site ComicBookResources that the DRM-free books would benefit comics creators the most. One of the first comics available DRM-free is Scatterlands, a collection of the free webcomics by writer Warren Ellis, a noted futurist and anti-DRM advocate, and artist Jason Howard.
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.
Educational Technology and Mobile Learning: 10 Must Have Resources to Teach about Copyright and Fair Use 1- Copyright Advisory Network This web site is a way for librarians to learn about copyright and seek feedback and advice from fellow librarians and copyright specialists 2- Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers This chart was designed to inform teachers of what they may do under the law. Feel free to make copies for teachers in your school or district, 3- Copyright Confusion This is a great wiki where you can have access to materials, PDFs, and guide on copyright and fair use of digital content 5- Creative Commons Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. 6- CyberBee I must say that this is really a great interactive website that teaches students everything on copyright issues. 7- Fair Use Evaluator This tool helps you better understand how to determine the "fairness" of a use under the U.S. 8- Taking The Mystery out of Copyright 9- Copyright Kids 10- Teaching Copyright