Posting Movie Audio Online

[davekmv]

Hello,

I've seen sites like this where people pull together unaltered audio clips from movies and make them available in what some people call "sound boards". Like this one for the movie, Napolean Dynomite (click the colored text to hear clips).

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/ndsound.php

My question: Is this legal?

Is it legal if you don't charge for it, and it's done as a fan site?

Is it legal if you generate revenue off ads on the site the soundboard sits on?

Is it legal if you generate revenue and sell the movie you've created the soundboard from?

Thanks!

Dave

 

[divgradcurl]

Hello,

I've seen sites like this where people pull together unaltered audio clips from movies and make them available in what some people call "sound boards". Like this one for the movie, Napolean Dynomite (click the colored text to hear clips).

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/ndsound.php

My question: Is this legal?

Is it legal if you don't charge for it, and it's done as a fan site?

Is it legal if you generate revenue off ads on the site the soundboard sits on?

Is it legal if you generate revenue and sell the movie you've created the soundboard from?

Thanks!

Dave

People who do this sort of thing generally rely on "fair use" -- whether or not a particular use of someone else's copyrighted work is a fair use or not depends on a balancing of four factors, see 17 U.S.C. 107 and Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, amongst other sources.

If you are asking whether or not you can do something like this, well, it's going to depend on what risks you are willing to take. The problem with "fair use" is that fair use is a defense to infringement, not a right that you can enforce yourself -- in other words, if you get sued for copyright infringement, "fair use" is a defense you can raise, and if your use is found to be fair, then your infringement is excused. The problem is, of course, that you need to get sued before you can raise fair use as a defense...

The determination of fair use requires reviewing all of the facts in light of current caselaw. However, just as a rule of thumb, if the use of the copyrighted work is used to help generate money, or for any other commercial activity, the chances of it being found to be a fair use are slim.