If You Can Read This, You're Infringing
from the stretching... dept
The recording industry's fight against sites posting song lyrics online has taken a slightly bizarre turn, with music publisher Warner/Chappell shutting down a Mac program (via Boing Boing) that simply searches the Internet for lyrics and displays them. The freeware application shows the lyrics of whatever song's playing in iTunes, getting the information from freely available, unaffiliated lyrics sites. Sending a cease and desist to the program's author isn't remarkable, but where it gets slightly odd is that Warner/Chappell's lawyers cited the Grokster case as their reasoning. Just to recap, it said that file-sharing networks could be held responsible if they took "affirmative steps" to encourage copyright infringement. Song lyrics are copyrighted, that's not disputed -- but how could simply viewing the lyrics be infringing on the copyright? The infringement (if any) is in publishing the lyrics, not in looking at them in a Web browser. What's next? Get Internet Explorer and Firefox shut down because people can view lyrics in them? Hell, let's shut down the entire internet since it's needed to access the lyrics. Predictably, the program's author took it down because he doesn't have the resources to fight -- like most of the people the music industry picks on.
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amaroK
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Re: amaroK
I just can't figure out how free access to the lyrics can hurt the RIAA or the artists. It's not like they are losing sales, because they don't sell lyrics. Lyrics only add to the enjoyment and are useless without the music.
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Re: amaroK
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No Subject Given
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logical conclusion
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What about Public Libraries?
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Re: What about Public Libraries?
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education
Oh, I know. Off the back of a (c)copyrighted bubble gum wrapper.
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if you can read this
45 if necessary might send them back to their
drawing boards.
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Re: if you can read this
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No Subject Given
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retarted
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Re: retarted
The world is full of idiots.
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tv show?
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Can't the EFF help out?
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shut down the internet
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the problem is..
Lawyers SUCK. These slime are just another example. The RIAA is going to squash that woman and leave her bankrupt .... although thanks to our asshole President and his rich Republican gift to the financial industry, she'll just live out her days as a debtor slave.
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They can't sue you if they don't know who you are
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Copyright of Lyrics
1 - Lyrics are copyrighted. Putting them on a website, in e-mail, on a blog, or typing copies for your friends WITHOUT autorization is illegal.
2 - To view the lyrics on your system requires copying to the local memory and screen. Also illegal. There fore ...
3 - Fair use for listeners to learn the words is the printed material that came with the album (CD or vinyl) or request a printed version form an authorized source.
Considering the efforts put forth in preventing us from copying songs from one media to another, is it any surprise they don't want you to know the words. Personal interpetation of music is still legal (as long as no one hears you.)
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Re: Copyright of Lyrics
Randy
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Re: Copyright of Lyrics
I am a musician and publisher, have a huge legally obtained music collection, and I think this move by Warner-Chappel is sick. I spoke to them on the phone the other day and gave them a piece of my mind, and will be encouraging others to do the same, and refuse to pay for any WB media until these lawsuits and actions are dropped. There is no place in my society for corporations to limit my thoughts (ie. ability to ear read) and ability to share my thoughts. (ie. the chord chard I wrote out) That's just sick, and it's not protecting art or artists.
-Adam
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