Case Preview

Before you start reading the "The Grey Area: A Case Study in Copyright, Publishing and Media", familiarize yourself with the terms, "copyright" and "fair use" .

1.Watch these videos about copyright and fair use by C.G.P. Grey and Copyright Clearance Center. 

2. Watch this clever video about copyright and fair use, put together by Bucknell professor, Eric Faden, using a mash-up of Disney clips, which is ironic since Disney was largely responsible for the lengthening of copyright terms. 



3. Read this chart to get a better understanding of what constitutes fair use.

4. Look at three cases of songs/videos where copyright infringement have been claimed. Using your knowledge of copyright and fair use, discuss whether each song/video falls under fair use. 

In  1989, 2 Live Crew released a parody of "Oh Pretty Woman" originally written by Roy Orbison and Wiliam Dees, who were credited on the album. After a quarter of a million records were sold, Orbison's publisher, Acuff-Rose Music sued 2 Live Crew for copyright infringement.

In 2005, the DJ Team of Party Ben and Team 9 remixed Green Day's American Idiot with songs from other artists, such as Aerosmith and Eminem. They released their album, American Edit on their website for free, and it became an underground success. Soon after, they received a cease-and-desist letter from Green Day's record label, Warner Records. 

In 2007, an American mother, Stephanie Lenz posted a 30-second video of her son dancing to Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" playing in the background on Youtube. Her video was taken down because Universal claimed it infringed copyright. 

5. As you study the case, keep these questions in mind: 

• Is a remix or mashup a form of copyright infringement or creativity? 
• How have remixes/mashups challenged copyright laws?
• How can you create a remix/mashup without infringing on copyright law?
• Who is the author of piece of music that is remixed or mashed up - the original artists/composers or the artist who takes the different segments and creates a new song?

Begin reading Part 1: The Artist.