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| Letter Senate & House
of Representatives |
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Copy into your mail program,
make the necessary changes and send or print.
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(Your address and date)
The Honorable Senator or Representative (name)
U S Senate or U S House of Representatives
Address
Dear Senator or Representative (name)
As a member of the Internet Community, I am
appealing to you to consider a bill that would
address a serious problem on the World Wide Web.
Most people think the Internet is nothing more
than one big university and market place with
people making enormous amounts of money. That is
not entirely true.
There is another part of the web known as the
Personal "no profit" Web Sites. The Personal Web
Site is a series of pages that are simply
entertainment, personal information,
inspiritation, or are support for those sites.
(music, backgrounds and graphics) Most sites are
made from poems, jokes, personal experiences or
are sing-alongs. Most music and graphics, on the
support sites, are offered free, in the spirit
of sharing with others, the accomplishments of
one's talents.
They are an inspiration to those who read and
laugh or cry along with the author. These sites
are bringing together the world population.
However, they are under constant fire from those
(not the webmaster) who would like to make money
from them.
These pages are usually made by "hobby"
webmasters that have learned the joy of passing
on music and laughter to the world wide
community and receiving positive responses
through email in return. I personally have
received letters from places like Bosnia,
Croatia, Italy, Poland and Australia, just to
name a few. (Put in your own experiences)
The no profit personal web page has not been
addressed in the Copyright Act. It would not be
changing something that is already there, but
instead, adding something that is desperately
needed.
Most personal web pages would qualify under the
fair use section of the copyright act, however,
if the website is not specifically posted by an
educational or religious institution, it can
easily get caught up in a lawsuit. If a
webmaster is sued, it does not matter if the
site qualifies, as fair use, as it is usually
impossible for the defendant to fight, due to
the cost of litigation. ($10,000 retainer fee
for a copyright lawyer in California and
estimated total cost $150,000.00)
These webmasters are not people who are making
millions from their sites. They do this as a
hobby. They are seniors who are living on what
little retirement they have been able to put
together. They are stay at home mothers who have
time on their hands, or people who are amazed
with being able to join in this high tech world.
They could be children who are learning the
internet, and one day may become the programmers
of tomorrow.
In the following, I will first state the wording
of the Copyright Act followed by why a personal
web site usually qualifies.
(1) the purpose and character of the use,
including whether such use is of a commercial
nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
ANSWER: The character of a personal web site is
educational, inspirational, just plain fun, or
support for these web sites. ie: offering music,
lyrics and graphics for the personal web site.
The purpose, is shown by the letters webmasters
receive. These sites bring happiness and joy to
many people, including those who are lonely,
disabled or troubled. They can also strengthen
families and help create new friendships around
the globe. Personal web sites also allow new
people to become comfortable "surfing" the
internet. These sites are non commercial.
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
ANSWER: The nature of the copyrighted works are
usually poetry, short essays, jokes, music and
graphics. The copyright holder, in some cases,
is very hard to ascertain.
Who is the copyright holder of "Roses are Red,
Violets are Blue"? Having been written in the
1800's, is "Happy Birthday" really still under
copyright protection. An article in the Reader's
Digest says "Yes." The cost of a search by the
Copyright Office is $65 an hour. Some
copyrighted works should be, by their very
nature and content, in the public domain,
however they are not. "God Bless America" is
still under copyright protection.
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion
used in relation to the copyrighted work as a
whole.
ANSWER: Only the amount of the copyrighted work
necessary is used.. ie: background music and
graphics that help set the stage for the
information given.
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential
market for or value of the copyrighted work.
ANSWER: The use of the music and graphics on
personal web sites cannot possibly harm the
market or value of the copyrighted work. Since
these webmasters "present" these sites free,
they cannot afford to buy the the music and
graphics from a commercial business. As a
result, they will just not post the pages.
The background music is usually created with a
MIDI file (Musical Instructional Digital
Interface) which cannot be "burned" to a CD and
played on a CD player, so the music industry has
no fear of these sites taking over their
business.
What are the current problems with the personal
web site?
There are up to 15 years worth of music and
graphics files floating around the net that have
NO visible copyright information. Many people
are not aware that the copyright even applies,
as most files are being freely traded. In many
cases, copyright information has been changed or
removed from the files and only the original
author knows which are his. Even though there
are penalties for changing the data in a file,
the offender never leaves fingerpints. A person
just does not know what is really "free"?
It is a huge problem. Even "innocent
infringement" is treated as infringement.
In order to be completely safe from a copyright
infringement lawsuit the only recourse is to
compose and produce your own music, write your
own text and make your own graphics or take the
site down. Personal Web Sites are now coming
down at a furious rate and the Internet is a
much sadder place because of it.
Please, we the Personal Web Site Internet
Community, beg that you will hear us and
introduce a bill on our behalf.
Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain,
Respectfully,
(your signature)
(name and phone number typed)
You may send questions or suggestions to:
David M. McLean
MRA
Director |
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| Free The Midis |
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This is a living site that will
change and grow constantly.
Be sure to save and come back
often.
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This site is protected by the "Fair
Use"
section of the Copyright Law.
ie: Educational |
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