No Free Samples
Popularity does not automatically equal legality. It is common to see videos posted on YouTube including a portion of a popular song. This is called sampling, which is a copyright infringement and is illegal in most instances. Before using or distributing a copyrighted work, always obtain permission. If consent is not acquired, then you are probably infringing on someone else's copyright.
So, when are you allowed to use copyrighted material without the owner's permission? - when it falls into a "fair use" exception. The fair use doctrine is “a privilege allowing others than the owner of the copyrighted work to use the material without the owner’s consent notwithstanding the monopoly of the use granted to the copyright owner.” There are four prongs to the fair use doctrine which must be met, specifically: the use must be for non-commercial purposes, the nature of the use of copyrighted material must be in the public interest, the amount of the segment used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole must be small, and the effect of the use upon the market for the value of the copyrighted work must be insignificant. To be in the clear, obtaining a license to use copyrighted or original material is the best idea.
To read more on this article, visit There’s no such thing as a free sample.
If you have any questions, please contact Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A., a Jacksonville, Florida law firm.
