Copyright Question: Use of News Broadcast Soundclip in Song?
Is it copyright infringement to use a soundclip that was originally broadcasted on a news channel in an original song that will be publicly released and sold? More info: I found a soundclip on youtube. It's from a news channel. It was recorded on the street (kind of an interview) and there were other news channels there recording the same thing. I would like to use a soundclip from this broadcast in an original song. My thinking is this: It was on the street, so any number of people could have recorded the voice, to include the other news channels, passers-bye, myself, etc. So there's no way to prove where exactly the soundclip came from. Another reason I think it might be ok is b/c I've heard plenty of club songs with news soundclips (for example, of George Bush speaking at an interview) that I feel couldn't have been cleared. Any references to the law would be helpful. (This may destroy everything I wrote...but the recording was in Taiwan, broadcasted in Taiwan, not in US
Public Comments
- Under U.S. copyright law, copyright automatically attaches once a work becomes fixed to a tangible medium. In this regard, to be cautious I would first assume that a broadcasted sound clip is copyrighted. Using another's copyrighted work without permission is copyright infringement. The remainder of your issues are difficult to answer in the abstract. Copyright protects only the original expressions of a given work. I suspect some sound clips involve little or no original expression, while other sound clips may involve substantial original expression. In this regard, the strength of a given copyright needs to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.
