How is it possible a public speech is copyrighted???? Someone please explain.

http://stream.aljazeera.com...201301182153-0022491

Internet freedom advocates declared Friday #InternetFreedomDay to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the pull of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

One organisation, Fight for the Future used the hashtag to release the complete video of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The assassinated civil rights leader's speech is copyrighted by EMI publishing and cannot be used in full without permission.

The speech itself isnt copyrighted....the recording is.

quote Copyright dispute Because King's speech was broadcast to a large radio and television audience, there was controversy about the copyright status of the speech. If the performance of the speech constituted "general publication", it would have entered the public domain due to King's failure to register the speech with the Registrar of Copyrights. If the performance only constituted "limited publication", however, King retained common law copyright. This led to a lawsuit, Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. v. CBS, Inc., which established that the King estate does hold copyright over the speech and had standing to sue; the parties then settled. Unlicensed use of the speech or a part of it can still be lawful in some circumstances, especially in jurisdictions under doctrines such as fair use or fair dealing. Under the applicable copyright laws, the speech will remain under copyright in the United States until 70 years after King's death, thus until 2038.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_a_Dream

Our copyright laws are the best that money can buy.

[This message has been edited by spark1 (edited 01-20-2013).]

One of the home videos I put on YouTube used the Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss Jr. as background music. To my dismay, the video was flagged as a possible copyright violation. Why? Because Sony owned the rights to the song.

Johann Strauss Jr died long before Sony even existed. Sony had nothing to do with the music, or its author. But that doesn't stop Sony from slapping a copyright symbol on it and calling it theirs. They just want to milk it for money, because it's a popular piece of music. IMO this practice is no different from pirating.

Sorry for the rant. But this is one of my pet peeves.

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 01-20-2013).]

I took down all my YouTube videos because several were flagged for copyright infringement. One was a car show when a tune was being played on a car I walked by. Another of a parade where a song was played on one of the floats passing by. I can't stop random sounds from entering my recordings so I'm no longer posting any.

edit: The MLK speech used to be at the National Archives as a teaching resource. Now that's gone too.

[This message has been edited by spark1 (edited 01-20-2013).]

quote Originally posted by spark1: Our copyright laws are the best that money can buy.

Not possible. That appears to be a 2010 issue of Time magazine. Obama promised in his '08 campaign he would do away with lobby and special interest, as well as providing full transparency, and shut dow GTMO terrorist prison. I know this--I read it on the internet on Huffington Post, MSNBC and every other liberal/progressive news site on the web..

Bon Jour.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 01-20-2013).]

Another Obama empty promise MJ.

I was like "70 - years?". I thought it was 50.

Thanks for this topic. I got me up to speed on copyright laws. I've always known it to be 50-years after the author's death when it would be in the public domain. I knew there was a fight in courts and such, much from the Elvis Presley family trying to secure copyright to his work for eternity and many of the motion picture companies trying to do the same. Mainly Mickey Mouse becoming public domain.

Hell... Low and behold, Congress did extend it from 50-years to 70-years back in 1998. And they extended the corporate copyright to 120-years.

I thought Sonny Bono was a Republican?

I thought he was dead.

Sonny is dead but the act that extended copyrights from 50 to 70 years after the artist's death is named for him.

Odd that a Republican would be in favor of a Bill that extends the income potential of large corporations.

I guess increased government intervention is ok if it makes you money.

quote Originally posted by MidEngineManiac: The speech itself isnt copyrighted....the recording is.

Yes, the one who makes a film/video/tape/etc or taking pictures owns the Copyright of that recording/images.

Sony and anyone else can own Copyrights for dead people.

for a start
www.copyright.gov
google: steamboat willie copyright

Fine I decided, remove it from the public domain and I never want to hear of it or him again. Just slightly bitter.

Bitter because before it was copyrighted I heard it and thought it was valuable thought put in a way that inspired thinking beyond what is already known. Respect for my thoughts would be to make sure that it is repeated as often as possible in my own words if possible. I wonder if Mr. King would agree.

quote Originally posted by MidEngineManiac: The speech itself isnt copyrighted....the recording is.

Therein lies the problem. The only way to see Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream" speech is via a recording. If there is no other recording available in the public domain, then the copyright holder is basically controlling a piece of history.

How would you guys feel if someone slapped a copyright symbol on the Mona Lisa, or the Declaration of Independence (or any other piece of history), and told you that you'll have to pay them to see it? Oh, and don't take any photos, cuz that's copyright infringement!

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 01-23-2013).]

quote Originally posted by Blacktree: Therein lies the problem. The only way to see Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream" speech is via a recording. If there is no other recording available in the public domain, then the copyright holder is basically controlling a piece of history. How would you guys feel if someone slapped a copyright symbol on the Mona Lisa, or the Declaration of Independence (or any other piece of history), and told you that you'll have to pay them to see it? Oh, and don't take any photos, cuz that's copyright infringement!

Exactly right.......

I like this comment found here as #17:

quote RIP Forest 1994-2114 "Stupid is as stupid does" -Forest Gump ^ That saying is copyrighted until the year 2114 by the way. The movie released in 1994 + 120 year copyright term = 2114. That's the year Forest Gump will enter the public domain and my great, great, great, grand kids can watch it for free. Oh Forest, how right you were about the stupid people.

Here's a map showing copyright duration in the various countries: