I want to add a famous song to a hub. Would this be considered copyright infring

1. 79

   Muttfaceposted 11 years ago

   I want to add a famous song to a hub. Would this be considered copyright infringement?
   
   I want to add a well-known song to one of my hubs. It's for a lesson plan and the students have to complete a gap fill. Would this be considered copyright infringement?

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2. 67

   WalterPoonposted 11 years ago

   If the song is from YouTube, it should not be a problem if you embed the video. But if you try to re-upload it, it would be a copyright infringement, even if you re-upload it in YouTube.

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   1. 79

      Muttfaceposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi WalterPoon,
      Sorry, I should have specified. It's the lyrics that I concerned about. I was going to post them with some of the words missing. Would this be a problem?

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   2. 67

      WalterPoonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Song lyrics are protected by copyright law, says guidethroughthelegaljungleblog.com. Why don't you just place a link to the official lyrics page?

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3. 82

   peachpurpleposted 11 years ago

   yeah, i did add in youtube video into my hubs, all ok. Just don't save into your hardisk and upload under your name. That is wrong.

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4. 60

   LoisRyan13903posted 11 years ago

   I think if you reference the song and give a link to where you got it from, that should be okay.  But will Hub Pages allow that since they detect duplicate material?

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   1. 67

      WalterPoonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      As long as you don't copy the lyrics, there won't be any duplication. If you copy the complete lyrics, then you have violated copyright laws. In fact, the music companies are going after the big guys already, so I don't think HubPages will allow it.

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   2. 79

      Muttfaceposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Are they targeting websites that offer lyrics?
      I guess I'll change my lesson plan in that case.

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   3. 67

      WalterPoonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, the article says they've no time to go after everybody, so they focus on the big guys. Was trying to look up the article for you but can't find that same article. Anyway, you can google for "lyrics copyright" to see other websites on the topic.

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5. 85

   SidKempposted 11 years ago

   This is a copyright issue. If the song is an old folk song, and out of copyright, then you can post it and do as you like.
   
   If the song lyrics are copyrighted, then your right to use it is limited. You can only use it within the limits of fair use, and also with proper citation of both source and copyright holder. (From here forward, I'll assume the song lyrics are copyrighted.)
   
   Some confusion arises on the fair use issue because, probably without realizing it, you have two different contexts for writing. HubPages is a commercial site, and the fair use rules are different than the rules for a lesson plan, which is educational use (not commercial use).
   
   To keep it legal with HubPages as a commercial site, do not include the lyrics on the hub itself, but, as Walter Poon recommended in his comment. This also prevents the "duplicate material" problem. You should name the song, name the copyright, and provide a link to the lyrics.
   
   If you were a teacher at a not-for-profit school or university, then copying the lyrics with proper citation would be acceptable within fair use for teaching purposes. But that does not apply to commercial sites.
   
   Regarding the technical issue of duplicate material, assuming the lyrics are posted anywhere on the Internet, if the are a substantial part of your hub, then putting them on your hub is a violation of the HubPages duplicate material rule. This is another reason to link, rather than put the text in your hub.
   
   All this said, I am simply an author who has done his best to understand fair use and apply it correctly. I am neither an attorney nor an official hubpages moderator. I suggest you email team@hubpages.com, explain what you want to do, point to this Q&A thread to inform them, and ask for guidance. In my experience, I always get clear guidance within 3 business days.

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