Myths About Music and the Internet
If I upload music from a CD that I own, I'm not violating copyright law. Just because you own the CD does not mean you own the music. You cannot upload music to the Internet without permission of the copyright owners of the sound recording and the musical composition.
If I do not charge people for downloading music from my site, it is not a violation of the law. If you do not hold the copyright, you can not authorize downloads of sound recordings even if you do not charge a fee. The No Electronic Theft Act (NET), which amended Section 506 of the Copyright Act, clarified that even if a site barters or trades infringing materials or does not charge or otherwise make a profit there still may be criminal liability.
If I just download sound recordings, it's not a violation. It is a violation if you upload or download full-length sound recordings without permission of the copyright owners. You should assume other people's works are copyrighted and can't be copied unless you know otherwise.
The "fair use" exemption protects me. Some uses may be "fair," but uploading and downloading full-length recordings without permission almost certainly is not "fair use."
If a web site does not display a copyright notice for the music, the music is not copyrighted. In the U.S., almost every work created privately and originally after March 1, 1989, is copyrighted and protected whether or not it has a notice.
If I upload or download a sound recording and leave it on my server or hard drive for less than 24 hours, then I am not liable for copyright infringement. Whether you upload or download a sound recording for 24 hours, 24 minutes or less, you are still likely to be violating copyright law.
Posting sound files to an Internet site is legal as long as you put a disclaimer on it such as:
- If you download a sound file, you must delete it from your hard drive in 24 hours.
- You must already own these CDs to legally download the sound files.
- This site is for promotional purposes only.
- Please support the artist and buy the CD.
It does not matter how many disclaimers you put on a site. If you operate a site that posts unauthorized copies of copyrighted recordings, you are violating copyright law.
Uploading music on the Internet does not hurt anybody. In fact, it's promotional and free advertising. It's up to the artist and copyright owner to decide how their music will be heard, distributed and promoted. Though most people do not realize it, approximately 85 percent of the records released do not recover production costs. Record companies rely on income from the 15 percent of recordings that are successful to subsidize less profitable types of music (classical, jazz), new performers and composers.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a government law enforcement agency associated with the CIA and FBI. The RIAA is not a government agency nor is it affiliated with any government agency. The RIAA is a nonprofit trade association whose member companies create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 90 percent of all sound recordings produced and sold in the United States. A key mission of the RIAA is to protect the intellectual property rights of artists and record companies.
The RIAA wants to make MP3s - - a popular compression format - - illegal. The RIAA does not select the technologies that our members use to promote and distribute their recordings. In fact, several of our members have used different formats - - including MP3 - - to electronically distribute their music. However, the RIAA does not support unlicensed music sites whether they are in MP3 format or not. Unauthorized music sites violate copyright law or other artists' rights.
It is within my First Amendment rights to post recordings to my site. The First Amendment does not include the right to infringe copyrighted works. If you are interested in learning about First Amendment issues that are currently facing recording artists, you should check out RIAA's web site (http://www.riaa.com). The RIAA devotes a great deal of its resources to protecting free speech.
The RIAA wants to censor the Internet. The RIAA wants to ensure that music fans and artists reap the benefits of the Internet. Record companies are excited about, and are actively pursuing, the vast promotional opportunities of the Internet. Protecting the copyrights of artists and record companies on the Internet is not censorship.
A site hosting unauthorized sound recordings is legal if the server is physically outside the U.S. because U.S. copyright law does not apply. First, U.S. law may well apply when the uploading and downloading takes place in the United States, even if the server is physically located in another country. Second, the copyright laws of foreign countries are, in many cases, similar to those in the United States. In addition, U.S. trade law allows the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to take action against those countries that fail to provide adequate and effective copyright protection and market access.
It is okay to have a site which links to a number of unauthorized files. As long as the actual files are not on my server, it is legal. Liability for copyright infringement is not necessarily limited to the persons or entities who created (or encoded) the infringing sound files. In addition to being directly liable for infringing conduct occurring via the site, a linking site may be contributorily or vicariously liable for facilitating copyright infringement occurring at the sites to which it links.
Contributory liability may be imposed where an entity knowingly and materially contributes to the infringing activity. In the case of a linking site, the RIAA believes that providing direct access to an infringing file would constitute material contribution to infringing activity.
Vicarious liability may be imposed where an entity has the right and ability to control the activities of the direct infringer and also receives a financial benefit from the infringing activities. Liability may be imposed even if the entity is unaware of the infringing activities. In the case of a linking site, the RIAA believes that providing direct access to infringing works may show a right and ability to control the activities of the direct infringer and that receiving revenue from banner ads may be evidence of a financial benefit.
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