Klarinet Archive - Posting 000201.txt from 2009/02

From: Tim Roberts <timr@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Fair Use
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:18:47 -0500

On Mon, 9 Feb 2009 14:13:40 -0500, Jonathan Cohler <cohler@-----.org> wrote:
> What is clear so far is that you have not shown a single case to
> support your claim that copying over a marked-up part that one owns
> is a copyright violation, or any case even vaguely similar to that.
>
> Given the fact that this type of activity happens every day in every
> musical institution and musical environment all over the world, it is
> clear that no lawyers feel they could win such a case. ...
>
> Conclusion: it is highly likely that this is NOT a copyright violation.
>

But, Jonathan, do you really not see that your conclusion does not
follow from your premise? Given your premise, that no lawyers feel they
could win such a case, you could reasonably conclude that "it is
vanishingly unlikely that you will be sued over this." However, that
has absolutely NOTHING to do with the legal question "is this a
violation of copyright?" It IS a violation of copyright, whether or not
anyone ever gets dragged into court over it.

Allow me to use an analogy. Given the fact that no police department
will stop you for going 56 in a 55 speed zone, it is clear that they do
not feel they could win such a case. Conclusion: going 56 in a 55 zone
is NOT speeding.

The analogy is exactly parallel, and the conclusion is equally as flawed
as yours.

--
Tim Roberts, timr@-----.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.

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