Week 1: Classmate Comment

Classmate Original Blog Post:

I am a singer song writer so this is a very interesting topic for me.  I did not know that the length of a copyright was 70 years.  I do see where this can provide a problem with the current state of technology. A common practice in pop music is sampling. In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a sound recording in a different song or piece. I was operating under some of the myths that were dispelled in the videos that Dr. Bustillos dispelled in his videos. This information leads me to want to dispel another copyright myth that is common among musicians. I have heard that if you mail a copy of your creation to yourself that is just as good as copy writing. I will have to research and see if this is true.

Learning that fair use is a defenses stances for those in teaching communities along with reports just to name a few was eye opening. In the future I will think twice about about fair use defense. I will work with in the lines of the law and just ask for permission.

Classmate Comment:
Bryan, I have found that not many know the laws within copyrighting and few actually take the time to find out what can and can not be done. I too have heard of the technique of mailing a copy of your work to yourself, known as poor man's copyright. Now this may seem to be the cheapest way of copyrighting, it is not totally fool proof. When this technique is used, courts do not accept it as a form of copyright infringement. As stated by Lynch (2011), a poor man's copyright does not give you the right to sue for copyright infringement; doesn't prove that you are the author; doesn't prove the work existed prior to the infringement or make one eligible for damages or fees if it was infringed. The rate on copyrighting is not as expensive as one may think and my advice is to obtain the appropriate copyright and forget the poor man's copy.