3 ms·
They're conducting a public performance of copyright music without appropriate licenses.
by underwater 6y ago
They're conducting a public performance of copyright music without appropriate licenses.
- Hnrobert42 6y agoAre you arguing that playing music out loud is illegal?
- 8note 6y agoIt is if other people can hear it and you have not licensed it.
- underwater 6y agoA public performance would be in violation of civil law rather than criminal law. But if you're being pedantic you could argue that, yes, it was technically illegal.
- greyface- 6y agoGood thing, too -- if it were a criminal matter, we'd have to rely on them prosecuting themselves.
- Hnrobert42 6y agoI am not being pedantic. I don’t understand your position. It seems you are saying that the police officer is violating copyright by playing music in a public space. Whether or not ASCAP would come after me or not, is it really true that in the US I cannot play music aloud on public property?
- kube-system 6y agoPublic performance is an exclusive right of the copyright holder as per the Berne Convention, which is signed by 179 countries. https://www.law.cornell.edu/treaties/berne/11.html https://www.law.cornell.edu/treaties/berne/11.html https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention Enforcement varies.
- Hnrobert42 6y agoI couldn’t find a clear definition of “public performance”. Everything I found related to a bar playing a song or a cover artist playing a song for money.
- underwater 6y agoYou'd have to talk to a laywer. I believe it is OK as long as you're playing it for friends and family. If you're broadcasting it electronically, like radio, it's OK as long as you have a blanket broadcast license. Given the cop specifically asked and confirmed that there were people listening, he probably should have had a license.
- paulmd 6y agoA copyrighted work, in public? Yes, very much so, and it has been for a long time. Play a copyrighted track in your business lobby and see how long it takes ASCAP to track you down.