Copyright laws in Cyberspace

Sketch · Otaku Knight Gender: Joined: 30 Sep 2004

^^ Ok so I was surfing channels on the TV yesterday when i saw a very interesting speech by Lawrence Lessig on Copyright laws in Cyberspace and my mind went to work on it.
Here were some of the questions raised by the speech

Do people have the right to sue people making fan AMVs, Parodies and so forth even if they aren’t making any profit from it? ..Example the charley brown music video (it was on the news a while back)

If you create something post it on the web... say a picture or music that you had written.... and some one else’s alters and use’s it, even crediting you with what you did... is it illegal?

I just wanted to see what other peoples views were on the topic ^^

^_^+2 thanks for taking the time to read this

Girkon · Chop Chop Fiend Gender: Joined: 29 Sep 2004

I think it's ok under the premise that it is released under a professional forum (i.e Newgrounds etc) , that you give total credit to those responsible for said music or images you use, and as long as you're not makin any cash, I don't see any harm.

Shino · Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 5:10 pm Post subject:

I agree with Teh Girk. As long as you aren't making money off it... I think it should be fine.

I mean it should be considered almost like fan art.

GAAZ · MOD Black Sheep Commander Gender: Joined: 14 Oct 2002

1976 Fair use act states you can use anything as long as you give original credit to the person that originally used it.

Disney got away with this for years with Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White when they didn't acredit Grimms Fairy Tales. After 1976 they were no longer allowed to call the works their own.

Also any Anime music video is legal because American Copywright laws don't extend to Japan so unless they can PROVE you got the footage from an American DVD then they're SOL.

Silver Adept · Otaku Lord Age: 42 Gender: Joined: 20 May 2003

I believe the design of the copyright is for authors and artists to secure limited rights to their works, much like the patents. Generally, they're used so that the original author receives complensation for their work, giving him/her incentive to continue producing work. Thus, so long as you're not making profit off of their copyrighted material, you should be able to do quite a bit with it. Fair use is supposed to also help people innovate and use already existing works to create new ones.

So, dpending on how much alteration has been done to the original, one can claim it as a new work and not have to give credit, but if there's enough in it that someone can make a legitimate claim that you're using their material, credit must be given, and even then, they can probably tell you to not distribute the work.

Parodies are protected works, I believe, and don't follow normal copyright rules.

All of this, though, must be taken with two pounds of salt as I Am Definitely Not A Lawyer.