might be a dumb question, but…
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Hi again,
Just wondering if it was legal to post song lyrics on my page? Is there some kind of legal terms of use stuff that would prevent me from putting the words to a song on my page? I tried to copy and paste a song from a lyrics site and it would not paste.
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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If the song is in the public domain, then you can print it on your blog in its entirety. If it is not in the public domain, then the song is protected under copyright law and you cannot print the entire song on your blog. Generally speaking, if it’s not in the public domain, you are safe printing one line in the song. Out of respect to the artist, and for your own protection, you should keep it to one line.
IE: Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose (one line)
I found this link that says any song published before 1922 in the US is in the public domain. I am guessing your song came out much later than that: pdinfo.com/index.php
The reason for this is that you did not create it. The artist/record company has copyrights on that song and you need to honor the artist by respecting those copyrights. If you had cut and pasted it and put it on your blog, that would have been dishonorable to the artist and it would have been a copyright infringement. It’s like renting a movie and then copying it or buying a CD and then copying the songs. It’s theft and it’s illegal. And yes, technically, you could be sued for copyright infringement if you violate copyright law.
What you CAN do (and what is respected) is to print one line of the song on your blog (that’s called ‘fair use’) and then have a link to the entire song, which should come from the source, meaning the artist’s website that has it published legally -not copied from a blogger/site that is illegally printing the song on their page.
I see a lot of people violating copyright law and as an artist, it’s really a bummer. Artists work hard at creating what they do and don’t want their work stolen.
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I don’t know what those 1,000 sites are doing. My guess is that some of them are legally printing the songs because the websites are managed by the artist/recording company, and that some of them are violating copyright law. You have to decide which group you want to be in.
The terms of contract at wordpress state the rules for copyright infringement, under number 7:
en.wordpress.com/tos/
I hope this helps.
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A legal workaround is that those lyric sites print the lyrics “as heard by readers/editors” which means they don’t type them off a lyrics sheet or the liner notes, but write down what they hear. Which can be funny when the song is “Louie, Louie” etc.
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Essential reading for all blog authors:
http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html
http://www.copylaw.com/new_articles/copy_myths.html@raincoaster “as heard by” is not safe. It’s probably considered a derivative work, much like a translation is, and thus requires the permission of the copyright holder.
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You know it’s gotta be off the liner notes…It’s almost easier to ahem, write your own song. Pants’ on the ground….
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Those are great links. By the way, downcastmysoul -you asked a good question. Also, the upshot to this is that it works the other way around, too. What she puts on her blog is her copyright and if someone was to cut and paste it on their blog, she would have the authority -although the process may be long- to have it taken down.
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Scary. The musicians could sue for copyright infringement for just printing a song even though I see song lyrics typed on blogs/and in emails all the time.
Also, what about videos/mp3 files of songs on blogs? People do that all the time.
Is it OK to post the video to a song from You Tube but not OK to merely reproduce song lyrics while giving credit to the artists? I see people who have little players on their blogs that play multiple songs.
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gigisanchez, let em post my shite on another blog, just give me credit and don’t call me late for dinner.
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“people do that all the time” – and people lose their blogs to lawyers and get sued all the time too.
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