Could they possibly sue me?

Question

I'm a young artist, and I use copyrighted lyrics in my drawings...can I be sued even if they're not used for a commercial purpose ( I don't sell the drawings or anything...just post them on myspace and sites like this...)?

Answer 1

copyright, in general, means you can't do anything with it, including duplication, without the owners' permission. Taking lyrics from song is the same as taking a quote from a book. As long as you reference the source, you should be OK.

Music, on the other hand, is a bit different. The songs, themselves, are copyrighted and no one can use them in other songs without permission. But, you're putting just a few of the lyrics on a picture. That shouldn't be a problem. Even if someone went so far as to protest, they couldn't prove that you took specific lyrics from a specific song. You can always say you made it up.

For example, if you drew a picture of someone standing on a building ledge and put the caption "I'm on the ledge of the 18th story...", no one can prove you took that from a Nickleback song. That could've just came to you on it's own. Crude example, but you get the point.

Answer 2

Yes, they could sue you. Profit has nothing to do with it, legally. If you're using someone else's material, that's not defined under fair use, (which your use is not,) you are violating Copyright.

However, there are many people/companies that don't mind such fan created art, free publicity and all. Your best bet is to contact the artists/companies and ask what there stand is on it. It's not likely you will be sued, unless you are a famous artist, but it never hurts to ask.

First of all, a Copyright gives you the rights to:
Reproduce your work visually or in a phonorecord (any type of audio media) To distribute the aforementioned works by sale, rental, lease or lending. To use these works publicly, (display or perform).

A Copyright lasts the lifetime of the author plus 70 years. Upon registering, you must put notice on your work, The symbol "©" or the word, "Copyright," or the abbreviation, "Copr." and the year of first publication (creation), and the name of the owner of the Copyright. For audio works, you use the symbol "(P)" the year of first publication and the name of the owner of the Copyright.

You can Copyright the following:
literary works
musical works, including lyrics
dramatic works, including music
pantomimes and choreography
pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
motion pictures and other audio-visual works
sound recordings
architectural works

You cannot Copyright:
anything that has not been fixed in a a tangible form of expression (it must be complete and written or recorded in a submittable form),
names
slogans
catchphrases, (2-4 must be Trademarked)
familiar symbols or designs
procedures
fonts, lettering or coloring
list of ingredients or contents
ideas, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices. (the latter should be Patented)
Anything made up entirely of common property with no original creation, such as calendars, height or weight charts, tape measures, rulers, lists, tables, food tables, etc.

Basically, what all that is saying is that if it is a common thing, it cannot be Copyrighted. It isn’t what you say, it’s how you say it. You could, legally, write a story about a boy bitten by a spider and develop special powers. You could not however, call him Spiderman.

It is how you express it, how you write it, that is important. The story itself, not the concept. However, if you did write a story like the above, you would probably be ridiculed and called a rip-off artist. If you need a reference for that one, check out Marvel Comics VS. Rob Liefeld.

Liefeld created a comic book character extremely like Captain America, not an exact replica, but a lot like him. Liefeld won his case because there were enough differences between the two characters to distinguish them. However, a lot of the comic industry shunned him for it. So please, try and stick with items that are original as possible.

Fair use allows such things as parody, research, reporting and commentary without expressed written consent. It doesn’t hurt to have consent and it is a good idea to give the author credit, but consent is not necessary for the aforementioned items.

Let’s move on to some myths you may have heard.
Myth: If I don’t defend it, I can’t keep it. WHY IT'S WRONG: You do not have to defend your Copyright in order to keep it, that only applies to a Patent or a Trademark.

Myth: I can copy this for my own personal use. WHY IT'S WRONG: This is a very popular misconception. Copying music, even if you own the disc (or other products, such as video taping television programs or movies), IS a Copyright infringement. You own the disc, but you do not own the Copyright to the data. It so common an occurance however, that it is mostly ignored. The Copyright link states this quite clearly. Other sites may contradict the Official Copyright office. Ignore them. Always use the official source, barring that, do like I did and talk at length with several Copyright attorneys.

Myth: It isn’t Copyrighted, it doesn’t say it is! WHY IT'S WRONG: The Copyright laws changed in 1998 to state that as soon as your work is fixed in a form, it is under Copyright. The day the Copyright Office receives your work in a fixed form, and complete, your work is legally protected.

Myth: If I don’t make any money off it, it isn’t an infringement. WHY IT'S WRONG: Once again, just because you own the product, doesn’t mean you own the rights. Get expressed written consent.

Myth: But it’s free advertising! WHY IT'S WRONG: Companies hire advertising specialists for a reason. They do not need or want help, and you run the risk of giving them bad publicity. A poor quality copy or a misprint of anything you might make could result in a degredation of a products image.

Myth: It was sent to me, I can resend it freely. WHY IT'S WRONG: Even if the person who sent it to you did have permission to send it to you, you do not have permission.

Myth: I can prove ownership by mailing my work to myself or having a Registrar officialy date it. WHY IT'S WRONG: These methods will not hold up in court and are referred to as a "Poor Mans Copyright". Especially in todays technological society, these things are too easy to fake. Registering your work is the only legal proof you have.

Side Notes: For reference, not all countries will recognize your work as Copyrighted.

Some things that are in public domain can be purchased, eg, Paul McCartney buying the rights to the song "Happy Birthday." Anything that has been Copyrighted, or Trademarked cannot be used commercially (advertisement, television, movies, etc) without having express written permission and paying a royalty. Usually a very minimal fee, such as two cents for singing "Happy Birthday" in a film.

If you are caught infringing Copyright, you can be ordered to stop and destroy any and all copies you made, and/or be fined. One artist, whose name escapes me, was taken to court for drawing extremely foul and gorey things, that he was ordered to stop drawing them. He refused and was taken to court again and was ordered to stop drawing. Completely, at least for publication intent. I’m not sure how they could enforce a ruling to stop someone from drawing. Unfortunately, I threw out the magazine I read that in.

Hopefully, these rules don’t scare you. I hope that they answered any questions you may have had. And I highly enourage you to research this information at the official site listed in the beginning of the document.

I also hope that this article can help you avoid any costly lawsuits in the future. The official Copyright information is rather long and hard to read at times, that’s why I made this. For your benefit.

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html

Answer 3

Youd have to check the copyright documentation, but Im sure they wont be as strict as to not let you use there lyrics for personal use. As long as your drawings dont get published or sold, you shouldn't have a problem. However, you might not even have a problem if its published, but im not certain.

Answer 4

If it's not for profit, I wouldn't worry-if it became a profitable venture you'd need to obtain permission to reproduce the words in your art- that can get tricky then and you'd need professional legal advice.

Answer 5

not sure but it depend on the copyrighted holder and do you use all the lyrics...... if not all i don't think you will get sue.

Answer 6

copy right means, that this thing belongs to some one else,,
and any tampering to it is sue-able,,
but u say u did not use it for commercial purpose,, does that mean,, u drew them and put it in ur bed room,, if it is ,then no one can touch u,,if it is not, then????

Answer 7

i don't think so its called freedom of speech