3 ms·
If I play a song from a legally-owned MP3 in public but no one is around to hear it, do I have to pay licensing fees for a public performance?
by freehunter 8y ago
If I play a song from a legally-owned MP3 in public but no one is around to hear it, do I have to pay licensing fees for a public performance?
- schoen 8y ago"To perform or display a work “publicly” means— (1) to perform or display it at a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered; or (2) to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance or display of the work to a place specified by clause (1) or to the public, by means of any device or process, whether the members of the public capable of receiving the performance or display receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or at different times." 17 USC §101 (note that this doesn't appear to answer your question!)
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y agoIs this Namibian law?
- schoen 8y agoNope, that's a great point! Here's the Namibian copyright act from 1994 https://laws.parliament.na/cms_documents/copyright-and-neighbouring-rights-protection-7133f08250.pdf https://laws.parliament.na/cms_documents/copyright-and-neigh... which does include an exclusive right to "perform in public" a copyrighted work, and doesn't seem to further define or clarify this concept.