Hello. Not knowing what I can or can´t do prevents me from sharing the lessons I create. So I would like to know if I can release the following:
a) chapters of a book with (or without) the corresponding audiobook part.
b) lyrics with the corresponding songs
I would be curious to know If we can import song lyrics (text only) and then record our own audio (ie, myself reading the lyrics)
@kyleleitch I understand that you are allowed to do so if it is for private use, but I am not an expert in copyright law!
@brunort6 I understand that people share things privately, but … no expert in copyright law!
I tend to respect copyright law, not only because I know how hard it is for some artists to make a living.
Haha!
Well in that case I’m in trouble!
I find this a difficult issue, too. And what about texts from websites where the audio still has to be recorded. Very often websites have links to share their content on social networks but at the same time there’s a “Copyright by …”. I’ve got no legal knowledge but it doesn’t make sense to me. If you allow content to be shared on social networks, it should be okay to use the text here and include a link to the original site. But that’s just my personal opinion. It would certainly be possible to ask for the website owner’s permission.
I believe that at least content from books shouldn’t be a problem considering the fact that the internet is full of extracts from various kinds of books ( Wikipedia for example ) so I think we shouldn’t worry when we add texts from different textbooks , manuals or any other written works by other people .
“I believe that at least content from books shouldn’t be a problem considering the fact that the internet is full of extracts from various kinds of books ( Wikipedia for example ) so I think we shouldn’t worry when we add texts from different textbooks , manuals or any other written works by other people .”
There is a big difference between the use of an excerpt with proper citation, and the publicisation of an entire book for public use.
@djvlbass of course I agree that an entire book should not be publicized here. However, what is the limit? 1 chapter, 10 pages, half a chapter, 2 chapters, 3 chapters? And could I add the part of the audiobook that corresponds to these parts of the book?
The limit is a properly cited block quote, as is what you can expect to see on wikipedia.
Audiobooks are a totally different matter. I’m not a lawyer, but that sounds to me like sharing music.
I asked about this before and was told that it is ok to import books, and it is ok to share them privately, but it is not ok to share them publicly. Sounds reasonable to me. Anybody learning German on here want to share some books, contact me.
ok, I understand, thank you.
edit: Actually, I don´t understand. I could split an entire chapter in small pieces, each one being a single lesson. Well, I suppose there is a limit for this, I just wonder what it is.
@Djvlbass: It’s like Brunort6 said , no one is going to upload a hole book here so I believe I wasn’t wrong with what I said . You should’ve understood from what I wrote that I was just assuring Brunort6 that there’s no problem if he uploads just excerpts from a book and not the hole thing .
Regarding uploading songs which are sang by those who composed or by those who were composed for , I am not sure if Canada has any punishment for those who share others work so I believe it is better to keep it safe ( tough I am a supporter of sharing and torrents ) .
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I have seen a few complete books shared in the library. I believe the audio was recorded by the person who shared the book. Also, the books were rather old (nearly 100 years old) and therefore it was likely they were out of copyright.
The problem with copyright laws and a site like this is that there are users from all over the world and copyright laws differ by country. LingQ is based in Canada and I imagine that the website is hosted in Canada as well so it is likely that Canadian copyright laws would apply to anything shared in the library. Whether you personally can share a text in the library probably also depends on the copyright laws of wherever you live. Websites such as Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/) are hosted in the U.S. and therefore follow the copyright laws of the U.S. Canadian copyright laws are probably not all that different from the U.S. but I really don’t know.
My takeaway form this is that:
@all - We can’t comment generally on what is acceptable and what isn’t. Please note that you are liable for any lessons you share in the Library, so if in doubt, it’s better to check with the creator of the content first.
@alex - Understood. It’s unfortunate that copyright laws seem to be written for a world that ceased to exist almost 30 years ago. The internet, along with computers in general, make copyright laws that were previously fairly easy to understand much more murky.
The thing is that the issue of copyright is rather annoying at times. If it really mattered for all those who make a living from creating different materials , whether if we are talking about movies , games etc. , they would be in a pickle because some people download their creation for free , so they should make it so nobody can do it anymore .
In a way I don’t understand why some countries allow sharing and torrents and some don’t . Either everyone should be allowed to do so or they shouldn’t permit anyone ( tough in my view this would be the end of the internet ) .
@ MADARA
“or they shouldn’t permit anyone”
Who are ‘they’ in this case?
Yeah, there is no global government to impose a coherent copyright policy.