yet another question about copyrights

[ScriptNurse]

Al, the law was changed significantly, but I don't have the details handy.

Hmmm ... commissioned? This is a work for hire? He was paid to write this play for the teacher? If he was paid or remunerated in ANY way ... he's not the owner of his work ... she is. In effect, she's acting as a producer, hiring a writer to write that which she needs written. Therefore, he's not the owner of the play, she is. I'm not positive, but it appears to me that he's out of the picture and she's the one with the problem.

[uncle_al]

If it was done before 1925, if I remember correctly, it's most likely in public domain.  Music is a different matter, though... the music itself may be in public domain, but one performer's recording of it may NOT be.

It's complicated.

Al B.

[rnbrewer]

Thanks Don. I'll be sure to pass this info along to him. He's not a High School student. He was comissioned by our old theater teacher to write a play based on the poem. She comissions him all the time (which is good for him, lucky son of a...oh yeah.) In all honesty I had a feeling this is what you were going to say. I don't know a everything there is to know about copyrights but I more or less said the same thing to him. I just wanted to know for sure what kind of problems he's up against and any helpful advice I could pass along to him.

I have a feeling he's not going to take this news lightly.

Just for future referrence what is the best way to find out if something is under copyright? I know we can look up CURRENT copyright status but what about the Public Domain? Does the Library of Congress web site have a way of accessing it or is it controlled and maintained by someone else?

Thanks again, Don.

[ScriptNurse]

Is your buddy a high school student? Here's what I'd do if I were your friend ...

Know EXACTLY how many lines of poetry are used in the play. Do I assume that there's not something distasteful about this play and the use of the poetry? (For the moment, I'lll assume there's nothing bad about the association of the play's story and the poetry.)

NEXT ——

He needs to call these people up and apologize profusely for his mistake, that he did it as part of his school work (if possible), that he did not know someone still held the copyright to her work and he did not know how to find out such things, his being a high school kid and all. He should mention that his work was very well received and is being taken to a state festival as a result. He should ASK for their permission to go ahead and take the work to the state festival and that he will agree to NOT use it in any form thereafter without their express written permission. He needs to find out if they have a copy of the play in their possession and if not, would they like a copy sent to them? He wants to convey the impression that his misuse of copyright was unintentional and accidental. (The object is to get on their good side and their permission. Beg if need be.)

WHERE YOUR FRIEND IS IN ALL THIS ——

HE IS DEAD MEAT ... and the owners of her work already know this. He is in clear violation of copyright law. Whether or not money was involved is, to some degree, irrelevant. If they say no, he's done. It can help if ... a school official is involved in the call and verifies your friend's information ... if the play cover gives proper credit to Edna St. Vincent Millay.

WHY HE IS DEAD MEAT ——

Owners of intellectual property must legally enforce their copyrights to avoid setting the precedent that they failed to do so. Uneven enforcement of copyright opens the door to have a lawsuit not settled in favor of the copyright holder. Once you lose copyright protection, you lose the money that goes with it. This is why Disney is so zealous about protecting their copyrights. They came close to losing their original copyright on Mickey Mouse, which was due to expire in 2004. They got Congress to change the copyright law in the United States to extend the copyright term. In Disney's case, it's truly "The house the mouse built." I was reminded of that often when I worked for them.

REMEMBER ——

A work "based on" or "adapted from" is an extension of the original work and REQUIRES the written permission of the copyright holder for its use in another work, which may include their ultimate approval of the derived work, so be sure to read the fine print.

[rnbrewer]

A good buddy of mine recently wrote a play that was performed at the High School level and they planned on taking the play to a state one-act festival. The problem is that the play is based on and contains excerpts from "The Murder of Lidici" by Edna St. Vincent Millay and, through some strange act of God (or the internet) the people who own her estate learned of the play and they're a little peeved that my buddy didn't ask permission first before using the poem. I told him I'd look into it. I guess my real question is this; If there was no monetary gain from the performance of the play/poem is he in any real trouble or is he looking at a slap on the wrist? He didn't really use the whole poem, just small portions of it scattered through out the play (the play was original by the way.)

Thanks ladies and gents!