Copyright Aid

Hi Korn4eva, Copyright usually is more complicated when it involves songs. However there is no doubt that you still retain the copyright in the original composition. The adding of lyrics merely turns a piece of music into a song, and because the music and lyrics are distinct from each other, they ca...

Thanks Ann, for wrapping up this saga for us. It's always nice to hear of the success stories when the law (eventually) works as it should. Sadly, the smaller cases don't get enough publicity and so don't act as an education or deterrent to others who are often ignorant about the law.

Hi sam91, The short answer is no you don't need a licence if you don't intend to show films to the public in your centre. And even if by accident a film did get shown in this way, you wouldn't be 'prosecuted' since it would be a matter for civil litigation. An MPLC licence is not a form of insurance...

Hi wap22uk, As you say, ideas alone are not subject to copyright. It is the original way in which the idea is expressed which garners protection. Within the European Union member states, consideration of the originality of the expression of a work is based on whether it represents the spirit or pers...

Hi Mubuer, A lot depends on what your purpose is in doing this. If you want generic images of books or bookshops, like your second example , then the exception for incidental inclusion should cover you and you won't need permission. If you intend to refer to the specific book, like example one , the...

Hi Adam, Being in Poland does make a dfference but theoretically you could bring a claim in Poland if the book is available there - which it obviously is because of the internet. However I have no idea how difficult or expensive it would be to start a case in the Polish courts. As for the wider issu...

Hi Adam, Since you have been negotiating with the publishers I suggest that this is the most productive and cheapest route to follow first. Even if you and they cannot agree to a settlement, it might be worth taking the matter to mediation , which again is going to be cheaper and less stressful than...

Hi schabert, Yes, you can certainly sue for breach of contract, which has resulted in an infringement of your moral right to be credited as the author of the photographs. This is particularly serious because getting a credit (and hence wider exposure) was the sole benefit which you stood to gain fro...

Hi musicman2019, Anything to do with royalties and the music business is complicated. And I have to start by saying I don't know all the ins and outs of the music business; for specific advice you may need to go to a lawyer who specialises in the music business. However if you do a search on Youtube...

Hi Lumberjack, I think you are probably over analysing the issue of needing permission to photograph certain objects, such as models of ships or trains. There is a theoretical risk associated with anything which truly qualifies as a work of artistic craftsmanship, where copyright may apply, but in t...

Hi Peter, Glad to hear things are moving forward for you. The 'specified' / 'unspecified' bit refers to whether your claim is for a specific amount, or if you wish to leave this up to the court. In view of the flagrancy involved, I imagine your claim falls in the unspecified category. If in doubt ab...

Hi Lumberjack, The issue of an identifiable person does not arise from copyright law, but from privacy law whereby a person is entitled under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights to a private and family life. The requirement to get releases from identifiable individuals before using ...

Just a quick afternote. Of course all of the above has very little to do with Creative Commons, which appears in the title of this thread. The Creative Commons organisation itself is opposed to the Article 17 provisions in the new EU directive because they believe that measures, such as upload filte...

Hi Lumberjack, My previous answer was just a statement of the law; I don't think anyone is going to start issuing claims against you for any past actions. And even if they did, you (and others who do this sort of thing) would probably have grounds for opposing a claim due to the exception to copyrig...

Hi Lumberjack, The law hasn't chaged yet. The new EU DIrective has been approved by the European Parliament and it seems likely that the European Council will rubberstamp the decision shortly. However the new provisions need to be transposed into the domestic laws of the 27 member states, and they h...