Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Georgia

Copyright Infringement of WW II Music

The owner of the website of which I am the webmaster likes to have WWII German military music playing in the background. Most comprise a singing group with accompanying instrumentals. He (the owner of the site) insists these are public domain and don't infringe on any copyrights. One song in particular is from a YouTube video which has a copyright note at the end of the video. The video is playing the song while scrolling through the words of the stanzas. At the beginning of the video is a painting of a prominent historical figure, while at the end, a flag is displayed. Obviously, the person who created the video (and copyrighted it) did not write, sing, or perform on the instruments of the song. The owner of the website wants only the MUSIC to be played on the site. Is using this music a litigational action? Also, can I, the webmaster, who would create the necessary html files to use this music, be held liable for copyright infringement? Thank you.


Asked on 2/04/08, 7:53 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Glenn M. Lyon, Esq. MacGREGOR LYON, LLC, Business Attorneys

Re: Copyright Infringement of WW II Music

Whether a song is still under copyright protection or whether it is public domain depends on the specific song when it was copyrighted and the life of the author. The youtube.com video author might mean to copyright the whole video and not the song. And if the song is in the public domain, they couldn't copyright the song.

With regard to your personal liability, it is possible. You should have a good services contract that addresses this issue as well as others.

If you would like to discuss any issues further, please feel free to contact my office. My contact information is below. Thank you.

The foregoing is general information only, not specific legal advice. No attorney/client relation has been created or should be implied.

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Answered on 2/05/08, 8:02 am


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