Audio Sample Copyright

[MusicJunkie]

I live in New Zealand.

My question might not only be limited to my own country laws.

I will explain my issue to the best of my ability;


I have used audio samples in a song I have composed, from the voice of a man during a speech.
I have not used the entire speech and I have edited the order in which the speech takes place from the original, in a non-derogatory manner.

Here is some basic info about the speech:

The samples I retrieved were from another companies recording (IGN) whom were there during the event.
The event was hosted by Sony.
The person was "Kevin Butler" a fictitious Sony CEO.

I have created a song with samples of Kevin's speech. It has no advertisements whatsoever if that is important.


Now what I would like to do from this point forward is to distribute this song but I need to "provide proof that I have been cleared to use these samples" according to my music aggregator (The team that will distribute my music on my behalf).
I had contacted IGN and Sony to only receive a response from IGN stating that the use of the samples are to be cleared with Sony.
I have not received an email since (half a year ago).


To summarize my situation, I've used samples that may be copywritten but I cannot obtain clearance to use them due to no responses.
Can I make a claim that the samples are under fair-use?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you

 

[Zigner]

I live in New Zealand.

My question might not only be limited to my own country laws.

I will explain my issue to the best of my ability;


I have used audio samples in a song I have composed, from the voice of a man during a speech.
I have not used the entire speech and I have edited the order in which the speech takes place from the original, in a non-derogatory manner.

Here is some basic info about the speech:

The samples I retrieved were from another companies recording (IGN) whom were there during the event.
The event was hosted by Sony.
The person was "Kevin Butler" a fictitious Sony CEO.

I have created a song with samples of Kevin's speech. It has no advertisements whatsoever if that is important.


Now what I would like to do from this point forward is to distribute this song but I need to "provide proof that I have been cleared to use these samples" according to my music aggregator (The team that will distribute my music on my behalf).
I had contacted IGN and Sony to only receive a response from IGN stating that the use of the samples are to be cleared with Sony.
I have not received an email since (half a year ago).


To summarize my situation, I've used samples that may be copywritten but I cannot obtain clearance to use them due to no responses.
Can I make a claim that the samples are under fair-use?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you

Will your aggregator accept such a claim?

 

[MusicJunkie]

Will your aggregator accept such a claim?

That I am not sure of.

I can only 'assume' because they have asked me to show them the rights to distribute the song, they aren't interested in fair use policy.

Shall I attempt to ask them if they would accept such a claim?
Would it not be a risk for them if I do not provide evidence it is fair use?

And more importantly, Is it fair use?

 

[Zigner]

That I am not sure of.

I can only 'assume' because they have asked me to show them the rights to distribute the song, they aren't interested in fair use policy.

Shall I attempt to ask them if they would accept such a claim?
Would it not be a risk for them if I do not provide evidence it is fair use?

And more importantly, Is it fair use?

At this point, it's not relevant - if they won't accept it without you showing the rights, then you're sunk.

 

[quincy]

That I am not sure of.

I can only 'assume' because they have asked me to show them the rights to distribute the song, they aren't interested in fair use policy.

Shall I attempt to ask them if they would accept such a claim?
Would it not be a risk for them if I do not provide evidence it is fair use?

And more importantly, Is it fair use?

Are you saying the person "Kevin Butler" is fictitious or is it the name you are using for your example fictitious?

If Kevin Butler is a real person, you have more than potential copyright issues to concern yourself with - both in the US and in New Zealand.

The speech, if it was scripted, has a copyright holder who may or may not be Sony. You need to seek out the speech writer.

And the voice of Kevin Butler could potentially be protected by personality rights/privacy rights/publicity rights.

Also, even if you do not consider as derogatory the way Butler's words are being used by you in the song, Butler (or Sony or whoever else is connected with the speech) may not want to be connected with the content of your song/the message of your song.

Fair use, by the way, is not permission to use copyrighted material. It is a defense to a claim of copyright infringement. The US has guidelines that indicate what a court might consider fair use of rights-protected material but these are guidelines only - and they do not prevent a copyright holder from suing if they object to an unauthorized use of their material.

A lot of things to consider, in other words. You should sit down with an attorney in your area of New Zealand for a review of your song and its lyrics, the speech and the words you wish to take from it, and how to acquire the proper permissions from the holders of the rights, of which the speaker of the words will be one.

Good luck.

 

[MusicJunkie]

Are you saying the person "Kevin Butler" is fictitious or is it the name you are using for your example fictitious?

If Kevin Butler is a real person, you have more than potential copyright issues to concern yourself with - both in the US and in New Zealand.

The speech, if it was scripted, has a copyright holder who may or may not be Sony. You need to seek out the speech writer.

And the voice of Kevin Butler could potentially be protected by personality rights/privacy rights/publicity rights.

Also, even if you do not consider as derogatory the way Butler's words are being used by you in the song, Butler (or Sony or whoever else is connected with the speech) may not want to be connected with the content of your song/the message of your song.

Fair use, by the way, is not permission to use copyrighted material. It is a defense to a claim of copyright infringement. The US has guidelines that indicate what a court might consider fair use of rights-protected material but these are guidelines only - and they do not prevent a copyright holder from suing if they object to an unauthorized use of their material.

A lot of things to consider, in other words. You should sit down with an attorney in your area of New Zealand for a review of your song and its lyrics, the speech and the words you wish to take from it, and how to acquire the proper permissions from the holders of the rights, of which the speaker of the words will be one.

Good luck.

"Kevin Butler" is the name of a man who is hired by Sony to pretend he is Sony's CEO.

The message portrayed in my song (Gaming) is almost identical to the message portrayed during the speech (Gaming).

How should I seek out a speech writer? As far as I'm aware the only real way to get more information on who owns what in the video is to speak with Sony which is a process where my issue stems from.

 

[quincy]

"Kevin Butler" is the name of a man who is hired by Sony to pretend he is Sony's CEO.

The message portrayed in my song (Gaming) is almost identical to the message portrayed during the speech (Gaming).

How should I seek out a speech writer? As far as I'm aware the only real way to get more information on who owns what in the video is to speak with Sony which is a process where my issue stems from.

Ah. Well then, yes. It appears you will need to contact Sony first, as difficult a task as this might be.

I would not move ahead without having permission granted to you first to use the material from the speech. I would not rely on your use being a fair use. Although I am not familiar with Sony's "pretend" CEO, from what you have posted it is sounding to me as if Kevin Butler might be a "face" of Sony. If so, they might be protective of any rights to use him (or his words) in any commercial manner.

Whatever the case, you will probably be shuffled from person to person at Sony. Ask for their IP Department (licensing rights). That should limit a bit the number of people who will pass you off to someone else.

Here is a link with contact information:
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/

You will probably want to have your song and the materials you wish to use in it reviewed by an attorney in your area of the world.

Good luck.