...actually, DSE makes one comment in his article below which I was surprised by. In several years of following online discussions of this topic, I have never seen reference to an actual court case like this finding against a wedding videographer. Back when I was a member of WEVA, they actually said in print that they didn't know of such a case, and you'd think they would know. If DSE or anyone else can cite such a court case, I would appreciate that information.

from http://www.videouniversity.com/articles/copyright-for-video-producers

...While the court would probably not find against a bride or groom that had their best friend shoot the wedding, and then they edited their own wedding to their favorite songs for their own viewing and made a few copies for friends, they have and will find against a wedding videographer that syncs video to copyrighted works and makes a dozen copies for the family of the happy couple, whether the editor profits or not.

I've been asking the same question for a few years, and there's never a response. "Does anyone have first-hand knowledge of *any* videographer called out by the copyright cops"?

First, I am not a lawyer nor do I play one on the Internet.

I doubt that the costs would justify the process in civil court by any copyright holder. The outrageous lawsuits by the RIAA over illegal MP3 downloads had the effect they wanted - scare the shit out of the teenager's parents and college IT departments. Since copyright abuse by videographers is so far below that radar, so small in quantity, what would it gain them?

Just don't use Disney music on your demo video. I do have evidence that their copyright police will send you a "C&D" letter.

The general principal that has been put to me several times and that I adhere to is pretty simple. Did you have control of the music.
If it's dancing at the wedding reception or during a kids football awards presentation then the answer is no. On the other hand recently we were shooting pieces to camera for a movie and we had the event organisers turn the music off. We had control, the music wasn't connected to what we were shooting etc.
Syncing music to vision is another matter entirely. We have control and we can be held to account because we are benefitting from the work of others. In most countries one can obtain a licence for events such as weddings and school musicals. There are certain restrictions but the fees are reasonable. Check with your local public performance organisations. The only country I know of that does not have such licencing is the USA. Perhaps someone could press the point that under the FTA between Australia and the USA.....would be good to see the river flow the other way for once :)

Bob.

> However, what if I start making cuts to the video - i.e. slowing pieces of it down, etc.? Does this compromise the legality of this?

I believe that you've very astutely "hit the nail on the head". Once you start cutting to the music it stops being "incidental" and now becomes a central character in your story telling and for that you need a sync license.

You might want to look into this:

ZOOM Music Licensing.

For the first time ever, as a professional producer in the United States or Canada who uses music in the production of wedding and event videos, photo presentations and other related productions, you are NOW able to purchase the rights to use copyrighted music from the artists you choose at a price you can afford! The ZOOM License Bundle makes it possible.

~jr

Not a legal opinion, but practically, it is not so much a videographer issue, but the dissemination of the material after those dozen DVDs go out. If it was just friends and family watching at home, no one would probably get caught, even though the copies may be illegal.

But no one has any control over what those friends and family are going to do with the material. If they post a video of their "best friend's wedding" on YouTube, for instance, they, and possibly someone down the line, might just get a tap on the shoulder.

I know sites like Youtube and such are scanning for copyrighted music and such, I am with Jbeale. Has anyone (amateur wise) actually been busted for using music on their home movies?

Dave T2

> I am with Jbeale. Has anyone (amateur wise) actually been busted for using music on their home movies?

It's not about home movies. That's not illegal. What is illegal is once it leaves your home.

~jr