Sound bite usage

[David]

Several months ago we purchased on behalf of a client a Flash based game to include as a component in their web site. If you score a 'strike' it plays a 4 second bite of "I feel good!" by a well know artist. Our client has recently contacted us with the concern that they may be infringing on the copyright of the song.

I recall that there was a condition that small snippets of songs could be used without infringing on copyright. Any guidance on this or references to other sources would be greatly appreciated.

BTW - this is a first class site.

regards,

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I'm sure that it is a first class web site that you are using this for!! (Unless you mean us?! LOL) Might that famous artist be the one and only James Brown?

I would do two things:

1) Look at your licensing agreement that was included when you bought the software. See if there is a clause for "indemnification" and whether there is a clause for "warranties." My guess is that without negotiation, you didn't get any warranty that there wouldn't be infringement of copyright or violation of law. Doesn't necessarily knock you out of the box though. See if there is an "indemnification" clause where they will indemnify or reimburse you if you get sued.

2) Contact the company that you bought the software from. Ask them whether they have a license to use the sample. If they do, you should have them send some type of letter or documentation stating that they do. You can send a letter of inquiry and their counsel or officer can respond in writing.

Samples are copyrightable and using a sample of a song is actionable for copyright infringement. Is this a sample of the song or notes played on a keyboard that resemble the riff? If it is the former, I'd want to know -- I'm sure the reason they used the sample was because it is recognizeable and makes sense that the creator would want to be compensated.

I did a tremendous amount of Internet contracting for large Internet companies and I can tell you that it would not shock me if licensing issues were being ignored. Cases like this are the reason why it's important to have a good attorney in any good sized company that deals with the web and is graphic/feature rich.

 

[David]

Thank you

Thank you for the excellent and clear information. We will act accordingly.

I was referring to thelaw.com site as the excellent site. Quite a marvel really and flies in the face of countless lawyer jokes. My compliments and thanks again.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Re: Thank you

Originally posted by David:
Thank you for the excellent and clear information. We will act accordingly.

I was referring to thelaw.com site as the excellent site. Quite a marvel really and flies in the face of countless lawyer jokes. My compliments and thanks again.

Thanks. We hope the site fills a tangible void and much more to follow. Note that we do like lawyer jokes but are glad not to be one of them!!!