Ok, in the book I am writing it has a lot of music influencing it. Meaning my main character has the ability to control the radio and what comes out of it in the book. So there are several different mentions in the book of him doing this, and the song that is playing. For example, below is a short part of what I'm talking about. The radio that had not worked since the lake starts playing a soft slow melody over the speakers. “Forever my darling, my love will be true. Always and forever, I’ll love just you…..” I turn my eyes towards the radio then back up at him. Is this ok to do? My book centers around this kind of thing between the two characters. Thanks all Moe
it's definitely not ok to do it if the song is still under copyright and you haven't obtained written permission from the lyricist to use the lyrics...
Ok, is there a place on the net you can go and find out who holds the copyright to the song. I have done searches and come up blank.
ok, I've been reading up on all this, and what I found is songs can't be used under Fair Use Act. But song titles can't be copyright. So if I rephrase the parts in my book and just use the song titles then it should be ok. For example.. The radio that had not worked since the lake starts playing a soft slow melody over the speakers. “Pledging my love...........” I turn my eyes towards the radio then back up at him.
This is actually an interesting point because the words that are in the title are being used in the lyrics. So it could be that it's OK to state the title (i.e., "Song Title Here was playing on the radio.") but that it's not OK to use the title as lyrics (i.e., The woman sang, "Song title here..."). I'm not sure how this works, but I'd be interested in finding out.
But when you copyright a song, you can't copyright the name of the song, even if its in the lyric. So I am guessing, this has now become how you phrase it?
You can quote lyrics from public domain songs and you can quote any song title under fair use. Lyrics to songs that are currently copyrighted will require getting permission.
This is just a guess, but I don't think you can quote the title if it's in the lyrics because you're technically still quoting the lyrics. However, saying that the song's title is such-and-such is fine because you're not quoting the lyrics. Does that make sense? Again, I could be wrong here, so it's best to consult someone who actually knows about this stuff.
Unless a copyright lawyer has firmly told you that, I don't think that you can say it with confidence. Yes, it seems like a logical extension from the fact that the song title is not copyrightable, but logic doesn't always win in the law.
You don't need to be a legal expert to understand something as cut and dry as that. It's no more complicated than knowing that it's illegal to run a red light. You guys can mystify the situation and work yourselves into a tizzy if you want, but I've given you all the correct info you need.
Giving advice like this is just about the worst thing you can do. The fact of the matter is that this issue is complicated. Hopefully no one takes your advice without first consulting a lawyer. Do you at least have a source to back you up?
Here is a mention of this fact in a CNN article: http://travel.cnn.com/tokyo/none/quoting-lyrics-twitter-may-summon-jasrac-bogeyman-690709 This blogger mentions this fact: http://annerallen.blogspot.com/2013/03/so-you-want-to-use-song-lyrics-in-your.html Some forum poster mentions this fact: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140574 A copyright expert answers this exact question: http://ezinearticles.com/?Song-Titles,-Lyrics,-and-Copyright-Infringement:-When-Do-I-Need-Permission?&id=6810897 The book doctor mentions this fact: http://www.spawn.org/editing/askthebookdoctor40.htm All these are from the first page of a google search.
This page directly quotes the information from the us copyright office website indicating that song titles are uncopyrightable. http://www.musicrevolution.com/production-music-blog/2011/01/18/can-song-titles-be-copyrighted-legal-advice-from-a-music-publisher/?ModPagespeed=noscript
I went ahead and looked on the US copyright office website myself, here is some pertinent information: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-protect.html#title
All of those links say the exact same thing we've been saying: it's OK to use a song's title. My issue is using the title when it's part of the lyrics. These are two different things. In the first case, you're simply mentioning the title (which, again, is OK). In the second case, you're using the actual lyrics, which is what I'm not sure about. Again, to illustrate my point, consider the following two cases: 1. Artist Name's song "Long Title but I'm Trying to Illustrate a Point" was playing on the radio. (This is OK.) 2. Her favorite song was on, and she sang along. "Long title but I'm trying to illustrate a point..." (I'm not sure if this is OK.)
I'm doing fanfiction (automatically non-profit and it is allowed to exist because most holders are apathetic towards destroying free advertizement, even when all it would take is a postage stamp or maybe an email.) People are screaming at me that I will be sued immeasurably if I include a line from a song. I am confident that I could email the songwriters and get permission from at least one to have a few bars of lyrics without more cost than a drawing. For a published work, try to make something up or bribe a poet to help you first. BTW, MLM is a serial abuser of unmarked sarcasm.
If you quote it as the title of the song and not as a lyric of the song, you have quoted the non-copyrighted title and not the copyrighted lyrics.
Which one of those sources addresses the question of using a song lyric that is the same as the song title, in the context of a lyric, not a title? Edited to add: You may see no difference between: Context of a title: Joe grinned as the song "ChickenFreak's Argument" came on the radio. Context of a lyric: Joe grinned as a singer crooned, "...ChickenFreak's Argument...." but that's no assurance that a judge or jury will agree with you.
There are thousands of songfics on fanfiction.net. Legal or not, when it comes to fanfiction, copyright holders seem to not care.
