16 Sep
2013
16 Sep
'13
11:57 a.m.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Sweet_Lord#Copyright_infringement_suit
There's actually some precedent for legal action against people who
accidentally copy your work.
This is exactly the sort of unproductive back and forth that sometimes
makes me sad to be subscribed to this list. I think we can safely say that
the issue is complex and that none of us is qualified to give advice on the
matter. If someone is interested in practical advice, they should probably
consult a lawyer.
http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=759#comic
On Mon, Sep 16, 2013 at 11:36 AM, Dave Casserly
<david.j.casserly(a)gmail.com>wrote;wrote:
People have put various thoughts forth here about
whether or not contra
dance sequences are sufficiently original to be copyrightable. In my view,
they are. In some others' views, apparently they're not. If they are not,
then yes, nobody can take legal action based on copyrighted dances. If
they are, then fair use is not going to provide a safe harbor. It's a
narrower doctrine than most people think it is in the first place (a lot of
people claim "fair use" when their use would never hold up as "fair
use" in
court), and contra dances that charge admission would almost certainly be
outside of fair use.
Your example isn't really what we're talking about here, either. If you
conjure up a dance on the spot, you did not violate a copyright even if
dances are copyrightable and somebody else has already come up with that
sequence of figures. If two people independently produce the same exact
work of art, they each have a copyright to it. Doesn't really happen in
most instances, but with contra dances, it happens all the time.