Hello,

I am hoping to stage a music video contest at my college next spring. 
You can check out the details of the actual contest at this address
http://gouchermusicvideo.blogspot.com
Basically the idea of the contest is to use a competitive setting to
stimulate creative activity in the form of video projects.  You can
pick any song whatsoever and make a video project to accompany the
song (as long as you didn't write or record the song, so there is a
level playing field)

In order to get as many participants as possible I am writing a grant
to get prize money for the winners.  I think this is a really
important part of the competition and the quality of the submissions
will be much higher if these starving college kids actually have a
chance at some dough.  The grant comittee has plenty of cash to give
out, but I am wondering if there will be copyright issues once we
start giving out money.

The policy of our computer music and multimedia department has always
(unofficially) been, give credit where credit is due, so long as
you're not trying to sell it, it won't be a problem.

The contest will only be open to students.  I'm not sure yet how the
prize money will be given out, or in what form I will recieve the
money if the grant is given.

I would like to know what copyright issues/laws I need to know about,
and if possible, any advice on how I can structure the contest to
avoid these laws. (Perhaps I could call it something other than a
contest, or I could say the prize money is an arts scholarship, or
something to that effect)

I am at a very small college and this contest will attract very little
attention outside the school. I don't anticipate there being any real
legal problems, I just want something to tell the grant comittee
should they ask.

(I checked out www.eff.org in the hopes they would have an FAQ, but no luck)

---

Clarification of Question by akeating-ga on 06 Oct 2004 09:17 PDT

Should the search turn up possible copyright issues, I am most
interested in getting a feasible loophole, (not illegal) but something
I can use to justify the legality of this contest to the people
funding it.

Your contestants will each be making what is called a "derivative
work" in copyright law because they are taking a preexisting song to
which someone else owns the copyright and making a music video based
on it.  Strictly speaking, you need the copyright owner's permission
to make a derivative work.  Your best hope is to try and bring the
contest in under the fair use doctrine.

Generally speaking, if you use material in which the copyright belongs
to someone else, either through direct use or through creation of a
derivative work, you will need to either (a) obtain a license
(permission) from the copyright owner; (b) determine that the source
material is actually not "copyrighted" and is in the public domain; or
(c) determine that your use qualifies as a "fair use" under copyright
law.  Any use outside these three may expose you to liability for
copyright infringement.

Fair use contemplates that you ARE infringing copyright--the doctrine
simply gives you a defense if you get sued.  Basically, you are
infringing someone's copyright in any content of which you are not the
actual author that you reproduce, publicly perform or create a from
which you create a derivative work.

Under US copyright law, the Fair Use Doctrine, found at 17 U.S.C.
Section 107, holds that no permission is needed for purposes such as
criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple
copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, SUBJECT TO THE
BELOW FACTORS:

Factors: 	
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use
is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to
the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of
the copyrighted work.

So, to answer your question, you have to first ask if your use falls
into one of the enumerated categories [criticism, comment, news
reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use),
scholarship, or research] AND THEN you have to apply the four factors
and see if more of the factors weigh in your favor.  So, you will have
to find a way to make sure the contest fits into fair use.  Otherwise,
the most risk-averse and legally sound course is to contact the
copyright owner(s) and obtain a license (permission) to perform their
songs and create these derivative works.

The fact you are a small college helps since you might be able to
argue this is an educational use, but the fact you are paying money to
the winners cuts against fair use since there is an economic motive.

Thanks for the info, it helped me get an idea of where I stand.  The
proposal is in, so I can just keep my fingers crossed now!