The Grammy In Mathematics... Or Copyright Infringement?
from the you-decided dept
Slashdot points us to the absolutely fascinating story of how Woody Guthrie's daughter was able to restore the only recording of her father's live performance, that had been bootlegged using an old obsolete recording device. It took quite a bit of effort to restore the recording on an old wire-based device, and the effort got the mathematician who handled the restoration nominated for a Grammy, which he won. However, what struck me most about the story is that these days, people would be focused on how that simple act of recording would have been copyright infringement back when it occurred. Shouldn't we be happy that exactly that kind of infringement is now what allows us to hear Guthrie perform live? I'm sure Guthrie himself would agree. After all, he famously had a rather similar view of copyrights to many of us around here: "This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don't give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that's all we wanted to do." Unfortunately, those who manage Guthrie's estate haven't always been so kind -- so it's nice to see they recognized this recording as a potential gem, rather than an unauthorized recording.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: bootlegs, copyright, grammy, restoration, woody guthrie
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innocent
"restore the only recording of her father's live performance, that had been bootlegged"
That's a tazing
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Re:
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Recording a live performance is not copyright infr
Most live performances today come with a 'no recording devices' rule, but the power to prevent recording is contract law. I.e. It is a condition of entry to the venue. Nothing to do with copyright.
So if you come across a live performance in a public park, for example, you're perfectly free to record it.
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Re: Recording a live performance is not copyright
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Re: Re: Recording a live performance is not copyri
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There are two elements to copyright in this case..
It seems likely that Woody Guthrie owns the copyright to the songs; but the bootlegger owns the copyright to the recording. The worst "crime" the bootlegger could be responsible for was breach of contract; which was made with the artists + venue when he bought the ticket.
Mark, mentioned copyright was not granted until it was fixed. Although possible, it seems unlikely to me that this bootleg was the first time any of these songs put into a fixed format. And even if that were the case, I highly doubt that the bootlegger could lay any claim to the songs. For example, when a band goes into the studio to record songs the recording engineer does not walk out of there with copyright credit.
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Re: There are two elements to copyright in this ca
Your assertion about the engineer is true however engineers are under contract to make the recording for the artists and the contract then implies copyright will be handed over to the artist.
IANAL but I have enough experience that I could claim I slept at Holiday Inn or something..;)
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Shocked
Not far off from their current level of ethics ...
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It just goes to show...
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Copyright in "unfixed" works
So, contrary to Mark's advice, you are not necessarily permitted to record musicians in the park.
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But
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