Quotations

I think primarily one would have to find out whether that violates copyrights before we could even think of doing that.

I think this is great. Next up are song lyrics and sheets for music tracks.

I think primarily one would have to find out whether that violates copyrights before we could even think of doing that.

Quotes are everywhere. If I wrote a script I wouldn't care if others quoted it. We have every attribution necessary to keep off lawsuits right on the page - directors, performers, title and year. We just need to put which character says what for clarification. Unless Tom somehow gets a lawsuit for 'profiting from someone else's work' by severely skewing nature of VIP membership, which the judge'll bang the gavel on their head for wasting everyone's time on such a ridiculous case, I think it's fine.

At rateyourmusic we don't have song lyrics and also the back covers of albums because of copyright issues. To my knowledge, front covers (and also movie posters) are alright because they are necessary to promote the product. Song lyrics, sheet music, film scripts are like printing the pages of books. Dunno about film quotes, though.

Song lyrics? For Christ's sake, they have whole websites dedicated to lyrics. I feel bad for the guys at rateyourmusic.com, but you don't need a manual or official packaging for this stuff. Just look in the manual and convert the lyrics over through type. The backs of CDs are probably a legal issue, I'll admit. The music industry isn't doing that well right now - I imagine them inventing every reason to sue others for money. Film scripts are often on the internet, though. I could input a scrapped script for a movie that ended up taking a different direction and that'd be helpful, too. Sheet music is the music. If you print it off a copyrighted book, maybe that's due for legal issues, but the main two words on the disclaimers here are public domain. Sorry if it seems like I've been picking on you lately, Dale. Really I just hate the industry (like most do).

From the RYM FAQ:

Why don't you have lyrics?

We don't display lyrics because we don't have a license to display them, and we are concerned about the possibility of legal action. Several well-known sites (such as lyrics.ch) were not only shut down for displaying lyrics, but were subject to harsh penalties, including the loss of their domain name.

(Not all websites are legit, you know.)

If you have to pay for a service then you're paying for something that legally belongs to someone else. You don't have to pay for Listal.

What you need to understand, Dale, is that the boys at the music industry don't have that much control right now. Not only have they lost respect, they've lost money and essential artists and no one really needs them to get noticed anymore. Soon they'll have no legal say. They really won't.

So when it comes to legit websites vs legit industries, some websites aren't legit but some industries aren't either. Hell, the mafia controls half the music industry anyhow. Or they did. It's hard to tell what's going on there... Hmm.

Sure, if it was one or two quotes, might agree we wouldn't have any problems. But if everyone on this site put just one quote, we would end up with the whole script... and that just has to be a copyright issue.

The fact of the matter is, someone wrote those words (just as someone had to write the lyrics, and someone had to write the book). Therefore, they should get paid whenever someone uses it or at least we should have permission...

Also:
"How much of someone else's work can I use without getting permission?
Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. There are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentage of a work. Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances. See FL 102, Fair Use, and Circular 21, Reproductions of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians."
www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-fairuse.html
www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

I'm not sure that a database of quotes falls under "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research" use. And saying "So-and-so said this in the movie written by so-and-so" still wouldn't get you out of a copyright issue if you didn't have permission to use it in the first place.

Personally, I think Listal should avoid this altogether... It's way to risky, and opens the doors for simple issues like duplicate quotes, miss-pellings or incorrect quotes altogether. It would be a mess to monitor all that.

If we could import quotes from IMDb it'd be easier.

I'm not sure that a database of quotes falls under "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research" use.

I really don't see why not. You can pretty much take anything out of it, be it research or random entertainment. Since there isn't a lead-in or stuff around it, it's kind of free material.

The fact of the matter is, someone wrote those words (just as someone had to write the lyrics, and someone had to write the book). Therefore, they should get paid whenever someone uses it or at least we should have permission...

This is a belief. I'm of the belief that art is under the ownership of those that appreciate it.

If you scroll down on that link, you also see:
Is it legal to download works from peer-to-peer networks and if not, what is the penalty for doing so?
Absolutely not!
Can a school show a movie without obtaining permission from the copyright owner?
We're the law - we're not babysitters, goddammit!

And of course,
My local copying store will not make reproductions of old family photographs. What can I do?
Throw them away! All of them! Your grandmother's dead! Dead I say! Get over it!!

This is a belief.

It's also the law, no? So let's not get into trouble.