The Copyright Act & "Fair Use" Doctrine

[Luke]

Hey,

No offense was taken at all, the thread is interesting and yeah as for Henson a few people here have submitted stuff and got far (thats how I know) so if you ever do get to putting a tape together starting a thread for advice on what to do might get you some useful tips. The person you need to contact at Henson is Kevin Clash and during the audition process they do actually throw REAL Muppets at ya to try sometimes.

 

[PukkaPukka]

Kewlness Luke!

I think I might just do that ASAP
And about contacting Kevin Clash for info, would I just use the standard JHC fashion that's been going around in different contact posts on the board (Performer c/o The Jim Henson Company)? Wow, I'm really excited here guys!
And that is awesome that they actually (may possibly) throw Muppet puppets at you to try your hand at during live audition. Wow! What would they expect of you in this capacity, do you know? (I know I'm not a miracle worker and can't make myself sound like a heck of a lot of pre-dispositioned characters, except maybe for a few Fraggles, Pa Gorg, possibly Lew Zealand, Robin, and the Count...but if I get that far, I'd be willing to give it a go, I'll tell you!) But originality is the key, and I could definitely put some new spin on some old characters' identities...

I'm going to start a new thread like you suggested, I am after all having problems myself with certain framing issues and all...but I guess that is better left to the new thread itself. Thanks so very much everyone!

>Adam

 

[Fozzie Bear]

How would what you've said be offensive? I don't see it.

I don't think anybody's been offended, Pukka.

 

[PukkaPukka]

I don't think anybody's been offended, Pukka.

That's good to hear...I know man, I'm just covering my bases here (boards aren't the best place to pull attempts at sarcasm, and I was totally naive to whether mine would be misinterpreted, or others' attempts would be misconstrued by myself.). So yeah, thanks for the nice words, man.

 

[Phantom]

BTW, it IS fun though, isn't it (to sync to songs, I mean)?

That's how I stay in practice. A fun one to do is Joan Jett's cover of Crimson and Clover.

 

[Smy Guiley]

Wasn't most of "Sam and Friends" just synced to hit records of the day? I don't see anything wrong with that.

eric

 

[jediX]

There was a recent discussion regarding that... I'll pull up the url.

 

[jediX]

http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=11078

There it is.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Take, for example, if I were to - using my puppets - perform to a Fraggle soundtrack to show my expertise at syncing and expression, and were to do this to send to the Jim Henson Company in Los Angeles. This act would not be infringement, because it does not serve to benefit me monetarily, and only exists to exhibit to the JHC certain characteristics of my puppetry resumé...

Actually, that would be infringement because you would be altering a portion of a copyrighted work (adding your own puppetry to the soundtrack). There are a number of factors that get weighed in copyright law...not only is it intended to protect the author/owner's ability to profit from the work, it also protects the integrity of the work.

Basically, you can't go and alter a copyrighted work i.e. paint on a painting, re-edit a movie (like the infamous "Phantom Edit" of Star Wars: Episode I) or even hang X-mas wreaths on an artist's sculpture - even if you bought it! (Canadian Artist Michael Snow sued the Eaton Centre in Toronto over something like this and won).

There are exceptions of course like parody (SNL does this with "Fun with Real Audio"), but what is and isn't parody can be subjective in court. US courts have tended in recent years to side with copyright holders, rather than artists and advocates of fair use and free speech, which is a shame. The situation (especially in the US) seems to be getting worse, not better.

...Telecasts do not always carry this feature, and VHS, while this is generally applied, include the option to copy for personal use based on the Act above.

It's important to remember that the "personal copy" loophole only exists in the US I believe. You can't do that legally in Canada, Britain and most other countries.

I've noticed a lot of copyright questions come up around tape trading...basically all tape trading is an illegal activity. Whether you make money or not is irrelevant, but you're unlikely to have a problem if you're just trading and not selling. I don't personally have a problem with tape trading when it comes to rare stuff Henson refuses or is unable to release (but that doesn't make it any more legal). Henson should have everything out on DVD or video....most tape trading is stuff like the JHH that many Muppet fans have never been able to see!

As for the question about music on "Sam and Friends", that would have been all done legally...TV stations pay blanket royalties each year that allow them to broadcast most copyrighted music. It's a practice that has been around for decades.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

I'm supposing, then, this is why TMS always used older songs on the show--stuff that was probably already public domain--or didn't cost a lot to license.