Are we legal or not???

[Skybird74]

Admin, please help us out on this one. This is being passed around by new KJ's. It is from a site called www.karaokestar.com

"The other issue regarding laptop and hard drive karaoke systems in that it is illegal to load purhased CDG's on these systems. The licensing rights for music on a hard drive machine exist only between the laptop/hard drive manufacturer and the karaoke music provider. Many owners of these laptop/hard drive systems argue this point as they have been misinformed. Many KJ's assume CDG's are classified the same as regular CD's and feel it is legal to make back up copies or copy onto another media. There is a legal difference! If you doubt this, we welcome you to contact the CDG Manufacturers directly and find out what they say about their discs being LOADED on a hard drive."

I personally trust MTU. Can you please explain!
Many KJ's are now afraid to put their CDGs on yours or any other hard drive, as they have been told that laptops are being confiscated because of this.

[mindonstrike]

I could not find the info you indicated at that site but I've been hearing it for years from armchair lawyers.
****************************
You can start here http://mtu.com/support/copyright-notes.htm of course this is a legal opinion and doesn't mean anything until there is a court case and a judge rules one way or another.

My personal opinion (for what it's worth) is that because the use of this technology for karaoke and DJ is so pervasive that a judge would be hard pressed to rule it illegal without some kind of loophole (such as the requirement of having the originals available for inspection). But again this is MY opinion.

Sam

[George]

Originally Posted by Skybird74

....If you doubt this, we welcome you to contact the CDG Manufacturers directly and find out what they say about their discs being LOADED on a hard drive

Now that in itself is a JOKE, and a TIP OFF.

JOKE...What do you think the CDG manufacturers are going to say when it is them that hold the posture their material cannot be copied for any purpose?

TIP OFF...If that's the best reference for authority the writer of that material can come up with it's obvious they're either just winging it, naive, working with the CDG manufacturers, or trying to drive the market in their direction(selling cdg players).

[Skybird74]

Here is the complete link, where I quoted from:

http://www.karaokestar.com/lapharkarsys.html

[ddouglass]

Skybird,
See if this answers your question. It is a compilation of the court cases involving Karaoke CDGs. Here is the link:
http://www.ipjustice.org/karaokefairuse.shtml

In essence it says that we are legal according to the courts and Congress.

[Skybird74]

I went to that web site & everthing on that first page is quoting very old laws from the 90's and before. This is 2006. I see only one reference to putting CDGs onto laptops, saying the following: "...it seems likely that personal use or backup copies of electronic media (like CDGs, ebooks, or DVDs) would be found fair use if the issue were ever litigated. "

So, has it ever been litigated? Are there any laws specific to putting our CDGs onto a laptop?

And, what about people claiming to have their laptops confiscated even though they owned the CDGs that are on it?

[Skybird74]

OK, here's the last paragraph from IP Justice - which seems to be from 2003 - does sound like it might be legal:

Allowing them to copy the contents of their CDGs for backup or format-shifting to hard drives would also be a fair use, and is entirely consistent both with the legislation on copying digital media passed to date, and with traditional fair use analysis ruled on by the US courts.

[lmcmains]

Conclusion: Fair Use Protects CDG Owners
The owners of Karaoke CDGs, facilities, mobile hosting services and consumers, have invested substantially in the purchase of large libraries of Karaoke CDGs. Allowing them to copy the contents of their CDGs for backup or format-shifting to hard drives would also be a fair use, and is entirely consistent both with the legislation on copying digital media passed to date, and with traditional fair use analysis ruled on by the US courts.

This was dated 2004.
I guess you have to use your own judement if you want to do it or not. There is lots of out there have been doing it for quite a few years without any proplems.

[ddouglass]

Did any of those who claim to have had there laptops confiscated go to court to fight it or did they just surrender? Even though some of the cases sighted are from the 90s they are stillvalid arguments. Roe vs Wade (the abortion case) was from the 60s and is still a valid case.

As Larry said, use your own judgement. There are very few cases to interpret the laws governing CDG copyrights. Unless Congress specifically passes a law concerning Karaoke and what is and isn't legal we will never have a clear picture of their rights vs our rights.

[Skybird74]

I'm curious where you found the date of 2004?

Does anyone know about the difference in laws between public bars, restaurants, etc. and private clubs such as Veterans' clubs, Moose lodges, etc. Public places I've played showed their affiliation with ASCAP and BMI either on or near the front door. Are private clubs also required to join? Are there instances when a band or KJ is also required to be a member?