Important! BOC Lyric Copyrights and the WWW, FTP

[John A Swartz]

ROBO (and any others that care to listen):

I have brought this issue up on BOC-L before -- note that I always refer
to the lyrics in the BOC-L archives (both in this forum and in the FAQ)
as being "unofficial" - and came about by BOC fans trying to figure out
what the lyrics were (and I also refer to the fanclub for the "official"
lyrics).  My belief (and please ask Bolle about this - we had a form of
this conversation when I was starting the FAQ) is that as long as the
lyric archives are not direct copies of the official lyrics, and that
the archives indicate this, then I don't know think that there is a
copyright violation.  For instance, if I listen to "Godzilla" on the
radio and write down what I believe to be the lyrics, is that a copyright
violation?  Even if my "guess" is 100% correct?  Now, I don't claim to
fully understand such law - perhaps this IS a violation?

By providing a link to the BOC-L archives, I find it difficult to belive
that YOU (aka ROBO) are breaking the law - are you responsible for for
the content of every site which your page links to?

I seriously doubt that *Bolle* could be in any legal trouble due to
the BOC-L archive.  *He* didn't put the lyrics there, and he didn't
authorize anyone else to do so.  How does anyone not know that the
lyric files were originally typed in by members of the band?  I'm not
saying they are (and I'm pretty sure they're not) - my point is that
some individual (or individuals) created those files completely
independent of Bolle's activity with the "official" lyric book, and
without his knowledge.  I can not believe Bolle has any liability to
make sure that no-one in the world types down any BOC lyrics.

As far as TABs go, I'm also a little confused -- I know of no published
BOC TABs (when I say published, I mean in a book).  Any existing files
of BOC TABs have to have been completely made up by some one (i.e. not
copied from some "official" source).  Again, if writing down what I
think I hear as lyrics is o.k. (and I'm not 100% sure it is), then how
can writing down how I think the chords should be played on a guitar?

I will say one thing for sure -- there are hundreds of sites on the
internet which either contain lyrics and/or tabs, or links to sites
which do for numerous artists.  The proliferation of the 'net and the
web is making these sites and files more and more accessible to music
fans everywhere.  My guess is this is going to become a big issue, but
I also don't see how anyone can realistically put a stop to it.
Especially if my belief that "unofficial" lyrics/tabs are not illegal
If they are, then maybe the music/publishing industry will somehow
attempt a major sweep of the 'net to remove such stuff, but I seriously
doubt it.

(NOTE regarding lyrics in the BOC-L archives -- the Brain Surgeons'
lyrics ARE in fact direct copies off the CD liner notes - however I
received permission from Albert Bouchard and Deborah Frost to
reproduce them, and those lyric files specifically state such -- so
I know that those files are not illegal)

Mind you, I am not trying to make light of this situation, and I
certainly don't know all the legalities.  But again, the archived
lyric files of BOC songs were not supplied or authorized by the BOC
fanclub.  There are no "official" BOC tabs that could have been
copied.  I guess my questions that I would like you to bring up with
Bolle (and if anyone here knows the answers, I'd love to hear them)
are as follows:

1.  Is writing down (either on paper or a word processor) what one
thinks he/she hears (this goes for lyrics and music) a violation of
copyright?

2.  Are there any "strings attached" to the answer to question 1?  For
example, if a lyric file stated that it was not the official lyric, and
only some person's (or group's) interpretation of what they believe the
lyric to be, does that make a difference?

3.  Who is responsible for verifying the content and copyright of any
lyrics that are on a computer system accessible to the internet?

4.  If a person creates a web page and puts links to other sites, is
that person responsible for the content at all these other sites?

5.  Are there any documented cases of issues such as these were someone
was sued for copyright violation for either having such files or web
pages as discussed in the above questions?

John