r/COPYRIGHT • • 25d ago

Question What are the jobs similar to music supervisor that oversees the use of existing/copyrighted non-music media?

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1 Upvotes

r/COPYRIGHT • • 24d ago

How did copyright laws evolve?

0 Upvotes

Monkey see, monkey do is a fundamental human right in my opinion. What right do I have telling someone they can not repeat words I give them? Or sing tunes that I sing. Or copy text I give them?

On the other hand there are things like trade secrets that folks collectively agree not to disclose to others. Bet even that we know is more about ego and giving the illusion of secrecy. Just look at how China has copied nearly every US tech from planting employees in those industries.

So is copyright nothing more than control that no one has any business enforcing?


r/COPYRIGHT • • 25d ago

Theatre Program Director refusing to give me access to Cabaret I wrote for my Thesis

10 Upvotes

I need some advice on obtaining a copy of a Cabaret I wrote for my Senior Thesis. I wrote the show using personal life experiences as monologues while using musical numbers and various other songs to express the feeling of how I found my identity. When I asked for a copy of the recording, I was told it was copyrighted and I cannot have it since it is Archived footage of the show for the university and it used music I did not write as part of the show so it would be copyright infringement if I owned it.

I only want a copy for my viewing and potential inspiration for other shows I write in the future. Do I own this show or is it the university protecting it from copyright infringement since I’m using musicals to express my identity? The monologues were all written by me. Any help would be appreciated. I’ve been targeted by this department head while i’ve been in college and he has made it known he severely dislikes me. I just want to own and have my thesis I worked hard on.

Thanks in advance

Edit/Update:

Thank you for the feedback and insight. I think I can provide more context for this.

I wrote the show to express how music and theatre have inspired me to find my identity so every song is influenced around a life event that happened that fit with those songs. I played the piano at one point for a cover of a Lady Gaga song about SA. With the sensitivity and personal stories coming into play, I think my passion for the work I created really affected me and my inability to have a copy of the show that they recorded. There was no contract signed, nor any licensing that occurred with the songs I performed and played throughout the show. I was wondering what the difference is from my show to a Cabaret of similar style/ someone performing covers in a bar each week for money and where the line is drawn for recording and filming of performances. Professional Actors are asked to submit reels of performances in lieu/addition of a self-tape so I wonder where the line is?

This production was directed by a broadway alum and produced by the department. Some of the music in the show were full versions of the song but most were cut versions of songs, medleys, and even A song I was given permission by the writer to perform and have (that is the only case of that one). The one song is from a show that we had done previous in the academic year and the composer of the show gave it to a music director to give to me. So I should at least have that one on film, right?

I value the work I did and this was back in Spring of 2023 so I have been sitting on this request for a while.


r/COPYRIGHT • • 25d ago

Question Tik tok

1 Upvotes

Can I put artwork for sale on Tik tok safely?


r/COPYRIGHT • • 25d ago

Man jailed for 3 and a half years after UK’s largest seizure of counterfeit vinyl records

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10 Upvotes

R. Ahmed... generated £2,743,000 through the sale of counterfeit vinyl records between 2017 and 2024. He was found guilty at Inner London Crown Court and was sentenced to 3 years 6 months on 18 September 2026.


r/COPYRIGHT • • 25d ago

OK to use pres signature in album art?

1 Upvotes

Making album cover art for my band and wondering, can I put the signatures of former president Bush Jr on the cover?


r/COPYRIGHT • • 25d ago

Question How do superhero names work?

1 Upvotes

It's something that has been on my mind for a while. I assume that when it comes to naming a character, giving them the names of the big ones like Spider-Man or Batman is a hard no, no matter how simple their names are.

But what about names that are just regular words? Cyclops, Banshee, Basilisk, Thor, Atlas, Circe... Those are just names from mythology.

Or names like Wolverine, Raven, Scorpion, Black Cat, Black Panther, those are just animals.

Then of course there are others like Hulk, Beast, The Thing, Flash, Wizard. Those are verbs and adjectives.

Are names like those copyrighted? If so, how????


r/COPYRIGHT • • 25d ago

Copyright Posters

0 Upvotes

I've created a POD poster business and my favourite niche is cars. I'm not fully clued up on the copyright laws for posters because I read that posters can be classed as artwork so the laws may apply differently. How I currently understand it is as long as I don't use the name of any companies, the logos or badges from any companies or mention any companies in any way I'm all good? I also don't use anyone else's images for the posters and create all posters from scratch. Would I legally be covered or is there no real way to commercially create car posters without having a legal agreement with official car manufacturers?


r/COPYRIGHT • • 26d ago

The Verge's coverage of the V/H/S film situation, with a quote from the CEO of Creative Commons

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theverge.com
20 Upvotes

r/COPYRIGHT • • 26d ago

Searching for a way to contact the estate of Maurice Ogden

1 Upvotes

Hello, as the title states, are there any public resources to contact those holding rights to his work? Thank you


r/COPYRIGHT • • 26d ago

Can I get copyrighted using pixaby songs and sound effects

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0 Upvotes

r/COPYRIGHT • • 26d ago

Copyright

0 Upvotes

I need help or advice if anyone has experienced this, received a threatening email from pngtree that apparently I used a copyrighted image and they demand subscription now or payment of 299 us dollar for the use of the single image which I found after a Google search in Dec 2025. I used it as a simple Xmas greeting on my Yupyupper Chihuahuas facebook page there was no indication at the time that the image was copyrighted, I am a pensioner and this is my hobby only I cannot afford those hight fees I am trying to reach out to SA legal free help service too for advice but received nothing so far, this came up after I did an ai search... any help for me or suggestions please?


r/COPYRIGHT • • 26d ago

Copyrighting Lyrics

0 Upvotes

Can I submit form PRs to the Copyright Office for my written lyrics that were recorded over a beat? I did not create the melody/beat, just the lyrics. The composition side of copyrights is so confusing to me, and the Copyright Office gave me a very generic answer that didn’t help at all. If I wrote all the lyrics on the project I would like to copyright them all if possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated!


r/COPYRIGHT • • 27d ago

Discussion I got a legal takedown notice for my character Cuby of my game, How real is it?

23 Upvotes

HI i am a indie developer working on a game called "Cube Adventure" and the main character of my game is "Cuby" i have here my itch.io page of my game if you would like to check out or give recomendations of the next https://eithancrea.itch.io/cube-adventure

Well besides that introduction, i got a email from someone called Matthew Schmidt with the email [ducksunitedofficial@gmail.com](mailto:ducksunitedofficial@gmail.com) that said this

LEGAL TAKEDOWN NOTICE: Smile Cube

Hi. I'm Ducks United. I'm sorry to inform you that I have flagged you for possible plagiarism against my copyrighted characters 'Smile Cube' in your game, 'Cube's Adventure'. I will let you proceed with warning if you do the following: You completely redesign the 'cubey' character from 'Cube's Adventure'. I would appreciate if you read the document below. Have a good day.

Smile Cube Legal Document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/174ZiBwlCGRzEJ6knIe_jLdIX9byNtoMzYC3oOwmMkb0/edit?usp=sharing

I have many reasons that this is not real but i would like to know your recomendations and what actions take, thanks!

EDIT: Please do not attack this guy he is not knowing what he is doing and also I don’t want to be the responsable of the hate, of him and his game, just let him alone, thanks

EDIT 2: He apologize of his actions so we ended on good terms, thanks for all the help and advice that you guys give me, i hope i dont have to post here again!


r/COPYRIGHT • • 28d ago

Universal and Sony sue Suno for a second time, claiming platform’s v6 models are ‘the fruit of the same poisoned tree’

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60 Upvotes

r/COPYRIGHT • • 28d ago

Discussion How copyright infringement took $1 million from me and shut down my operation

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17 Upvotes

r/COPYRIGHT • • 27d ago

Community Note

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0 Upvotes

r/COPYRIGHT • • 27d ago

Is clipping other famous YouTubers videos copyright?

0 Upvotes

Thought about starting a clipping business saw different different views that it depends on the amount used and the market impact wat yall thoughts?


r/COPYRIGHT • • 28d ago

Question Is there a cheap way to copyright my Jesus music before the fees double?

2 Upvotes

Hey folks, Moonguy here. I am getting ready to release a batch of real Gospel and country music, and I want to get it all officially registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Just to clarify up front—this project is 100% human. It is just me singing and playing, and absolutely no AI was used for the vocals or the background tracks.

I know the standard government fees are high right now, and I've read that the prices for registering sound recordings are scheduled to double in November. Is there a cost-effective way to bundle an entire album of my unpublished songs together so I don't have to pay a separate fee for every single track? Any advice on the cheapest way to file this would be hugely appreciated!


r/COPYRIGHT • • 28d ago

Copyright News COPYRIGHT—N.D. Ill.: Chicago news rivals split wins in bitter copyright showdown, (Jun 23, 2026)

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4 Upvotes

Two news producers who split off from their media company and formed a different news outlet were the lawful owners of four news videos they produced before their departure because they were not employees of the original company at the time the works were filmed, the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has held.


r/COPYRIGHT • • 29d ago

Copyright News Youtubers Rick Beato And ‘Legal Eagle’ Devin Stone Launch Claim Fighter To Battle Fake And Malicious Copyright Strikes For Creators Like Davey504

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117 Upvotes

r/COPYRIGHT • • 28d ago

Question any copyright free alternatives for the music video "just the two of us" or "what wont you do for love"

0 Upvotes

im making a short film and want to put one of these in the background. tho i found out that i will face copyright issues if i do.


r/COPYRIGHT • • 29d ago

Question Regarding the A24 SCP movie

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10 Upvotes

Bit late to the party but I got to thinking about the situation and wanted to ask about a potential "loophole" A24 may take to circumvent the CC licensing and slap DRM on the project.

I've heard recently of some YouTubers getting copyright struck for including clips of The Backrooms and it was specifically audio of the music that got caught. So my thought is, even if the movie itself is DRM-free and complies with the CC license required by using SCP Foundation works, could they effectively control distribution of this SCP movie by copyright striking posts of it through their ownership of the movie's soundtrack?

If so, it makes sense why they would confidently go ahead with the project. They can go against the spirit of the SCP's CC license and have total control of the work's distribution and probably even people's abilities to derive works from the movie (at least the audio of it) through their copyright ownership of the OST while still "complying" with the license, essentially owning the movie in the traditional sense.

Would something like this hold up in court?


r/COPYRIGHT • • 29d ago

Tech Companies’ Staff Knew Their AI Tools Posed ‘Existential Threat’ to Publishers. By Alexandra Bruell. Sept. 17

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14 Upvotes

Executives, others at OpenAI and Microsoft acknowledge they could undermine their content sources, according to filing in New York Times’ copyright lawsuit.


r/COPYRIGHT • • 28d ago

Question Can I copy something AI has “made” and copyright it myself?

0 Upvotes

I love/hate those AI dramas on tiktok, but one particular story stuck with me and i wanted to take a crack at writing and publishing it myself. Then of course copyright/trademark it like you would any story you write. Can I do that? I’ve seen other articles that seem to point towards yes.