Early in the EMDT program, we had the fear of copyright law instilled in us. Now we are being encouraged to bend that law, if not out and out break it, for the sake of literacy and cultural progress.
My question is: Who owns the rights to the video above? I took the video (not a great video, I admit. I wasn’t planning to until I remembered I could capture the moment on my iphone.) There was no announcement before the performance, like I remember before Bob Dylan started playing, that the use of video equipment was prohibited. But I did not write the song and I did not perform the song. Do I need permission? Can the songwriter sue me for using this video here on my blog? The songwriter posted one of my videos on his facebook page. We never talked about permission. Can I sue him?
Common sense shows us the absurdity of the situation. How would it benefit either one of us to try to maintain control over a three minute piece of video that should be freely shared with anyone interested in viewing it.
Imagine if early oral storytellers wielded the power of copyright we may never have had the tradition of stories passed on orally throughout the generations. Our culture is richer when we share.
@ Kathy Toth
Wow--I had never thought of that before! I like to take a few videos at concerts, which I then post on my Facebook page. It never occurred to me that I could be sued for doing this. The way I looked at it was they let us take the technology into the venue (which some shows prohibit) so it must be ok, especially when they allow taping at the shows. My videos are not good quality either, but are meant to capture the moment to share with others who may have also been there. I am also one that fell into the "copyright trap" of believing that since I was not making money on them there is not a problem. I have not had anyone contact me about my videos (except to say they liked them...) so I will probably keep going until I am told to stop :)
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