Final Project: The Questions

Upon creating the questions and altering them to make the a bit more answerable for Rut, I kept a mindset where if I were to get in a situation, what is some advice I can seek to protect myself in the future.   I also created a list of ten questions just in the case the she becomes completely stumped and is not able to answer the question.

Question 1:

What are some charges that an artist can press against someone who recorded them during a performance, without their permission?  How can that person who recorded them, defend themselves?

Rut: 

They would file for an injunction, which is a civil remedy.  Also they can draft financial discovery if they have suspicion that the person who recorded them is making a profit of their performance.  This is also known as a discovery process, which in other terms in considered a civil lawsuit.

This question caught my attention because it is a guilty pleasure of mine to record bands during their performance, not to make money off of it, but to actually keep as a souvenir as a fan of theirs.  ”The Unites States passed legislation that allows a performer or record company to prevent the unauthorized recording of a live performance, even if the performer or record company does not own a copyright in any of the songs being performed” (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 219) The performer can also claim statutory damages if they wish to press charges against the defendant.  “A Tennessee District Court ruled that separate sound recordings embodying a single song constituted one work when determining statutory damages.” (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 204)

Question 2:

If an artist or band creates a song that is not patented and is copyright infringed upon, what can the original artist do to claim the property?

Rut: 

The original artist would have to have a proof of ownership and/or license of the song because it will still be considered a novel idea.

The answer to this question would come in handy if I were ever to decide to create a song and get it licensed. "Copyright protection extends to any original work regardless of who created it and permission is required for reproduction, display or distribution of the work." (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 310) This can even branch out into many other factors in which many steps have to be taken, in order to protect the creation. ”There are two types of copyrights for music:  musical works copyrights, that protect songs and compositions, and sound recording copyrights, which protect the manner in which music is arranged and recorded-that is, the sounds fixed on the recording.” (Patent, Copyright, and Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 294)

Question 3:

If Security gets overly aggressive with an audience member, can that person sue for harassment against the security guard, venue management, or the artist?

Rut:

It is easy for different parties to get involved, in other words get ”hooked”.  For example, If the security guard acted within the scope of employment then the whole security management is hooked.  If he acted out of the scope then the management can not he held account for.  The venue also has their duty attend to the patrons.

This was interesting to me because in a case where someone is treated poorly during an event such as a concert, it would be useful to know who is held responsible for the guard’s actions.