Nuntii Latini Latin News from Finland

Any Latin learners interested in making a substantial contribution to the lesson library for Latin could probably make use of the following extensive collection of archived news segments (with transcripts) from Finland’s Nuntii Latini Latin radio program.

I would do so myself, but the files on my drive appear to be in the wrong format for the LingQ library…

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What is wrong with the format of the files? I’ve downloaded some of them. They are 64 kbps or 128 kbps what is fine for the LingQ library as far as I know.
It would be great to have at least some of these files imported into the LingQ library together with the respective texts.

LingQ returns the following error message:

“Please correct the following errors:
Field “audio”: The audio sample rate must be either 11025, 22050 or 44100 Hz. The sample rate of the audio you uploaded was 48000.”

I could convert the format and upload the lessons. Are they not copyright protected? Unfortunately I haven’t find such information on the site.

The archive with transcripts is no longer hosted on the Finnish website (Etusivu | Yle Areena – podcastit), but the episodes are typically provided as a podcast for free download, so it seems safe to assume that the risk of any takedown notices being issued or lawsuits being filed is nil.

@Alexandergiddings: If something is provided as a podcast for free download does not mean that you could share it on LingQ too. You have to study if there is a CC licence or another licence mentioned that give you permission, or you have to get permission from the provider. In Europe everything is protected by itself unless you share it under a CC licence.

When Latin was added, I contacted the Finnish Radio to ask for permission to publish Nuntii Latini podcast on LingQ, and they did NOT allow me to.

Reminds me of a Tim Ferris quote: “it’s easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission!” :slight_smile:

What are the chances of any real legal pursuit actually taking place? A Finnish company’s pursuit of, let’s say, a New Zealander who posts some of their work on Lingq would be terribly complicated and expensive. Firstly, I’d suspect that they would contact HQ in Vancouver. If my understanding is correct, Lingq has no ownership or control over the content. Lingq would direct them to the user, and it might simply be difficult to get ahold of them. E-mail is possible, but not necessarily legally binding depending on country. I suspect that a lawyer would be way too expensive for any company that makes podcasts with free distribution. If it’s a state sponsered outfit, they probably have a very tight budget already.

@David

True.

But a better way (maybe?) of looking at the matter is this: upload the content. If they notice and care, apologize and take down the content.

(Chances are these folks wouldn’t really care too much - but if you go ask them, the default reply will always be “no”.)

@Jay

This guy is my hero: Missouri pub owner responds to Starbucks threat with humor, $6 check 

I’m seriously curious to hear if Lingq has ever been contacted for these content copyright related reasons, and to know what happened.

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Given how pointlessly convoluted and impossible to follow international copyright law has become, with criss-crossing networks of treaties and so forth complicating matters beyond the comprehension of mere mortals, I would not be surprised if half the material in the LingQ library turned out to be theoretically infringing in any case, the general intentions of both creators and distributors notwithstanding.