Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!aplcen!jhunix!barrett
From: barrett@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Dan Barrett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc
Subject: Re: Legalities -- legal questions
Message-ID: <7815@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU>
Date: 24 Mar 91 02:37:18 GMT
References: <1991Mar22.064043.24121@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.audio
Organization: The Johns Hopkins University - HCF
Lines: 27

In article <1991Mar22.064043.24121@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Ethan Solomita) writes:
>	This isn't a big deal, just a curiosity question. I
>didn't know which was the right newsgroup.

	Probably c.s.a.audio.  I have redirected followups there.

> I have digitized
>several copyrighted works. (audio, that is) What are the
>legalities about distribution? Is there some ruling mentioning
>that a "sample" is acceptable? What if a company wanted to
>include the samples with their product, as an extra freebee? How
>does the system work, basically.

	At the moment, there is only 1 rule:  always get permission, or you
might get sued.  The law is not yet clear on the limits of legally sampling
and distributing the sampled sounds.  But most (perhaps all) such cases have
been settled out of court.  It appears that the record industry does not
want the issue to come to trial.  (Source:  the US Copyright Office, but
3rd-hand.)

                                                        Dan

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