Copyright+infringement

Is it infringement? Read the Case Studies from chapter 2 of Fair Use, Free Use, and Use by Permission. Select three of the Q and A situations and analyze each case. Your analysis should include: (a) a synopsis of the infringement, (b) an analysis of the case data that is presented, discussing the reasons why the infringement issue exists; and, (c) an evaluation and analysis of several alternatives, presenting suggestions for future action plan as it pertains to the issue. Support your suggestions with outside resources and references. Length: 5-7 pages (app. 350 words per page); 3-5 scholarly resources
 * Assignment:**
 * Copyright Infringement **


 * ** EL7007-8 ** || ** Dr. Greg Bischoff ** ||
 * ** Ethical and Legal Issues in an Online Course ** || ** 1 Copyright Infringement ** ||
 * ** Ethical and Legal Issues in an Online Course ** || ** 1 Copyright Infringement ** ||

=Copyright Infringement = Copyright is a protected right under the U.S. Constitution afforded an author of written or creator of other works “ fixed in a tangible medium of expression ” ( Waxer & Baum, 2006, p. 23; Wilson, 2005, p. 3 ). A work is protected by copyright as long as three conditions are met: (a) it is original, (b) it represents an expression, and (c) is perceivable in a set form ( Waxer & Baum, 2006; Wilson, 2005 ). Generally, copyright protection is not available for titles, terms, lists, short phrases, ideas, methods, systems, or functional aspects of a work. Infringing a copyright occurs when three conditions exist; the infringer (a) had access to, (b) copied portions of protected expression from, and (c) the infringing work is “ substantially similar ” to the infringed work ( Wilson, 2005, p. 22 ). Copyright protects the creations of authors for a limited period of time so that they can directly benefit from their work; then have those creations enter the public domain. Current copyright law in the U.S., for the most part, protects works for 70 years following the death of the author.

Synopsis of Infringement
A Resident Adviser held a movie night at the dorm. For the party he showed three movies rented from Blockbuster. He charged each student $3 for the movies and refreshments, and after paying for the rentals, food, and drink makes a profit of more than $150.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Analysis of Case Data
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The infringement occurred because the RA violated the rights reserved to copyright owners; in this case the movie studios. Movie studios have the right to determine how and where the movies for which they own copyright are shown. Movie theaters pay for the right to show copyrighted movies to large audiences, in public settings, and correspondingly expect the studios to protect their rights to do so. Movie rental stores, such as Blockbuster, have been granted the right to rent movies to be viewed by limited audiences; for home viewing. When the RA rented the movies from Blockbuster, he is expected to abide by the rights granted by the copyright owner to the rental store. Any deviation from those terms is an infringement on copyright. By showing the movies in a public setting, the RA violated the terms of the rental agreement, and was personally infringing copyright. Further, since the RA was acting within his capacity as an employee of the college, the college is also in violation as well, and culpable for any damages.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Evaluation, Analysis, and Suggestions
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">In the scenario the Resident Adviser signed a carefully worded letter admitting unwitting infringement of copyright protection, signifying that he would not do so again, and forwarding the profits to the copyright owner. Since this was a onetime event, and the infringement was due to ignorance, it is likely that the copyright owners will take no further action. This is one possible solution to the scenario. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">In the future if the RA wants to exhibit movies without infringing copyright, he has two alternatives. The first alternative is that movies rented from rental outlets are for home use only, and can be shown within the privacy of a home setting. The second alternative is that a public performance license can be obtained directly from a licensor, and the movie exhibited according to the terms and conditions of the license. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">If the RA were to show the movies in his dorm room there is no violation of the terms of the rental agreement, and hence no copyright infringement. Rented movies shown in a home setting are permitted regardless of the number of people viewing or whether admission is charged. However, it is doubtful that showing the same movies in the dorms common room would be within the terms of the rental agreement, and would infringe copyright. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">A public performance license is required for showing a movie in a public setting regardless if the movie is owned, rented, or borrowed by the exhibitor. A public setting comprises any location that is not in a private home. A license is required whether admission is charged or not. Licenses allow showing based on a specific time and place. Any public exhibition of the movie outside the time and place specified is an infringement of the copyright ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Enoch Pratt Free Library, 2012 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">There is one final exception to displaying movies in a public setting. This exception is called the “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">face-to-face teaching exemption <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Davidson College, 2012, “Public Performance Rights”, para. 1 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). The face-to-face exemption allows showing a movie in an educational setting, led by an instructor, attended by only registered students of that class, in which the content of the film relates to the course.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Synopsis of Infringement
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">A member of the Rotary Club writes a three-act play about a local hero. The play, called Foreign Correspondent, is based on an out-of-print book called From Cornfield to Battlefield: The Life of Walter Swenson. The writer does no independent research or interviewing for the play other than utilizing the single book.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Analysis of Case Data
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">For infringement three factors are considered. First, did the author have access to the infringed work? The writer admits that his work is a derivative work of From Cornfield to Battlefield. Second, were protected portions of the infringed work copied? The author admits that “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">most of the dialog. . . came directly from interviews conducted by the biographer <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Wilson, 2005, p. 27 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Finally, is the infringing work substantially similar? The author again admits that the “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">play tracks the structure of the biography practically scene by scene <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">p. 27 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Since all three factors demonstrate that the play is substantially copied from the book, the play infringes John Jennings copyright in his creation.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Evaluation, Analysis, and Suggestions
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The playwright has two alternatives for publishing his play without infringing the copyright of the book author. His first alternative is to go back to the drawing board, do much more research from multiple sources, and re-write the play from all available sources. The second alternative is to approach the copyright holder, Mr. Jennings, and get his permission to adapt the book into a play. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">In the scenario, the second alternative was chosen. The playwright wrote a letter to the author explaining that he had utilized his book in the writing of a play on the life of Walter Swenson, and apologized for his mistake in not getting permission for the adaptation. He also enclosed a copy of the play for his perusal. Since the copyright holder granted limited permission to produce the play with the conditions that he is named as co-author and any proceeds are donated to the local library, the playwright received the best possible outcome. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">An alternative to gaining permission is to write an original work that does not wholly or substantially rely on a single work. In this case the playwright would have to conduct his own interviews and research and produce the play without using the structure, or many of the conversations depicted in the book. In this situation, since the legal representatives of Mr. Jennings are aware of the dramatist’s first attempt, it is likely that he would have to defend his new production in federal court and demonstrate that while he did have access to Mr. Jennings work, that he did not copy the structure or portions of the text, and that his work is substantially different from Mr. Jennings work. In either case, this is a much more time consuming, and costly endeavor than the alternative.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Synopsis of Infringement
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">A Girl Scout program director plans the grand finale of the annual weekend convention of local Girl Scout troops. In this finale she will direct 150 girls in singing six recent Broadway show tunes. To minimize cost, she buys one copy of each song, and then photocopies them to distribute to each girl. The rehearsal and performance goes well, but one parent states that the director set a bad example to the girls and infringed copyright law.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Analysis of Case Data
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Copyright holders of music reserve the right to make copies of, sell, and distribute their music. In this case, 150 copies were made of each song and distributed infringing the rights of the copyright holders. The infringement is against the song writers, and the publishers of the songs. The publishers purchase the right to publish the songs from the writers with the promise to pay the song writers royalties on sales of the sheet music. By making copies of each of the songs the director cheated the publisher, who did not make money on any of the copies, and the song writer or copyright holder, who did not make money on the royalties.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Evaluation, Analysis, and Suggestions
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The Girl Scout program director argued a case for fair use of the songs because of the non-profit nature of the venture. A claim of fair use is determined on a case-by-case basis but is determined by four considerations. The considerations for free use of copyrighted materials is (a) how and why the material will be used, (b) the character of the infringed work, (c) the portion of the work being copied, and (d) the effect the copy will have on the market or value of the work ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Stanford University Libraries, 2012 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). In this case, the circumstances are such that it would not generally be considered fair use. While the material is being used by a non-profit organization that is not using the material to raise funds, the other considerations weigh more heavily against fair use. The music sheets represent a complete expression of artistic creation, were copied in their entirety, and the number of copies if further distributed would likely dilute the market for that music, lowering the market value. The scout leaders copying of the sheet music did not amount to fair use, and infringed the copyright holder’s rights in the music. If the leader needed to perform those six specific songs at the finale, her only recourse, without violating copyright, is to purchase the sheet music for each song for each singer. If this proved to be too expensive, the leaders only alternative is to find public-domain, copyright-free songs for the production.


 * = References ||
 * * Davidson College (2012). //Showing films or television shows on campus// [Web site]. Retrieved from http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x34349.xml
 * Enoch Pratt Free Library (2012). //How do I find out if a movie has public performance rights?// [Web site]. Retrieved from http://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/sightsandsounds/index.aspx?id=11096
 * Stanford University Libraries (2012). //Copyright & fair use// [Web site]. Retrieved from http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/9-c.html
 * Waxer, B. M., & Baum, M. L. (2006). //Internet surf and turf revealed: The essential guide to copyright, fair use, and finding media//. Boston, MA: Thomson Course Technology.
 * Wilson, L. (2005). //Fair use, free use and use by permission: How to handle copyrights in all media//. New York, NY: Allworth Press. ||