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Prepared by Mitchell Hoyer
4-H Youth Development Program Coordinator
Each year brings a new set of questions from 4-H members, families, and extension staff. Here are some questions from previous years we thought would also be useful for 4-H members, families, and exhibit judges. If you have an exhibit question, contact your local extension office or send your questions to me at mhoyer@iastate.edu.
Q. I am helping a 4-H member with her presentation and we are questioning who we would get permission from for a recipe. It is a cookbook celebrating the 150th anniversary of Anywhereville and it doesn't say it's published by a company. It lists a four person committee who coordinated the recipe book. The recipe does list a person that submitted the actual recipe. Would it be her that we get permission from to make copies to hand out of the recipe?
A. Yes, have your 4-H'er contact the person who submitted the recipe to obtain permission to distribute the recipe. That would work whether or not it was published by a company. The original author (unless they sold those rights) can always grant permission to use their material. That certainly applies to recipes in community and church cookbooks.
Q. One of our 4-H members is doing an educational presentation on the topic of “High Jumping”. She printed off pictures of different executions of jumping (showing change over the years) from the Internet. She has cited the websites and tracked down the photographers of each photo in plain view under each picture. There is not a link at the sites for copyright information. Is this OK?
A. If the 4-H member plans to use the printed photos on a poster for the presentation this is likely OK. While this might seem contradictory to what we would say with an exhibit, the difference is that the EP is a "one time" use, and is being used as part of an educational/instructional session. The photos are not displayed or used other than as part of the presentation. This type of use allows us some additional flexibility. Credit to the photographer and/or the source of the photos/images needs to be given during the presentation. This does not permit copying the photos and placing them on a handout to be given the audience.
Somewhere on those web sites will be some type of contact information. Find it. She should write and ask permission to use the photos. However, be aware that the web site may or may not be using the photos properly. The web site may also not have rights to the photograph other than to use on their web site. The original photographer typically retains rights and grants use of the photos. The exception sometimes is a photographer who works for a magazine, newspaper, etc. In those cases, the magazine or newspaper may be the holder of the rights. If the member has identified the photographer, search and find the contact information, and then ask the photographer.
Q. Two of our 4-H members are doing a Working Exhibit using a activity from the ZOOM website. Can they use the activity and can they hand out directions to the activity?
A. In order, Yes and No. ZOOM is a popular TV show and website that has several excellent activities for young children. Many of these adapt themselves very well to 4-H work in a variety of project areas. There are no copyright issues if the members are demonstrating and teaching the activity as part of a Working Exhibit. The members should give credit to the source of their idea or inspiration one of their posters. However, ZOOM explicitly prohibits distribution of materials found on their web site. So no, members may not hand out copies of directions obtained from a ZOOM web page.
The members may, and are encouraged to, hand out copies of a paper which give the name of the activity, the source, and the web page so they could obtain the directions themselves. Alternatively, members could contact the person who submitted the activity to ZOOM and ask that person for permission to distribute. Another option is to attempt to find a similar activity from another source that would allow distribution of the directions. Be sure your members inform the communication judge during their conference that they did not distribute directions because of copyright issues. Member will not be penalized in their evaluation for doing the right thing regarding copyright.
Q. Two of our 4-H members are doing a working exhibit making a craft item. They saw the idea on a web site called Kids Domain. Can they hand out directions for the craft item?
A. What do the terms of use for the web site state? Kids Domain is owned and operated by Kaboose, Inc. The Terms of Use for the web site state (in part):
“Ways you may use these craft activities:
You may print them and share them with people in your own home, in schools (both public and private), daycare centers, scouts, youth groups (including church groups) nursing homes, and other community groups. You may reproduce them and hand them out to any of the previously mentioned groups, so long as you are doing this for free. Please make sure your handouts include the contributor information (if available) and our copyright notice and site URL.”
Given this information, as long as the member follows the credit instructions as listed, we would allow them to hand out the specified directions. The members should print off a copy of the Terms of Use page so the judge can see that permission to use the directions is allowed.
The Kids Domain and Disney examples illustrate perfectly the wide range of copyright permission given by publishers. Each case must be dealt with separately. Members must locate the copyright statement and/or terms of use to determine the permitted uses.
Q. Several years ago, a club did a Share the Fun. It was changing the words to a song. Now they want to do the same song only change the words again. Is that all right?
A. The short answer is...Maybe. The longer answer involves a discussion of copyright, infringement, fair use, and public domain. Most likely, what you have described would be considered a parody of the original song (Think Weird Al Yankovic). In our research on copyright, it appears to be well established that parodies are typically found by courts not to infringe on copyright restrictions. (Depending, of course, on the particulars of any specific case) The more transformed (different) the parody is from the original, the stronger the argument is that the new work is not a copy. For example, changing part of the melody as well as words is stronger than changing words only. (See the U.S. Supreme Court case of 2 Live Crew and their rap version of Pretty Woman as an example - Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.)
Other factors that influence the answer are the commercial nature of the work, the likelihood of the work or performance infringing on future sales or demand for the original, and the proportion of the original work used in the new piece. Complicating issues for music are copyrights held by multiple entities. Depending on the song, the music copyright may be held by one entity, another may hold a copyright to the lyrics, someone else may hold performance rights. Pick up a CD sometime and look at all the copyright holders listed. Will the members use purchased background music that allows use in performances? If so, their case to use the music with different lyrics may be strengthened.
Then let's consider whether or not the work may be in the public domain. Depending on when the song was written, recorded, published, etc., it may (or may not) be in the public domain. Material in the public domain may freely be used. Many common folk songs and nursery rhyme songs are in the public domain due to either age or are of unknown origin. Most materials published prior to 1923 are in the public domain. (It's always good to check anyway and verify publication dates) Your adaptation now (may) becomes a "new" work, and your lyrics may be copyrighted as of the time they are written.
It is our current belief that a 4-H club Share The Fun performance (adapting lyrics to a song), would be a permitted use under the Fair Use guidelines of Title 17 (Copyright) of the U.S. Code (as currently interpreted). There are many excellent informational websites regarding copyright law, including the FACE site http://www.csusa.org/face/. I would encourage your members to do some of their own research on the issue.
Q. We had a girl do an educational presentation and in it she sang the Happy Birthday song. She did not reference the song writers and we have a mom who says it is copyrighted. Is this against copyright to sing the song in its entirety and not give credit to the song writers?
A. An interesting question. Mom is right. The song is coyrighted and will remain under protection until at least 2030. The “Happy Birthday” song generates over two million dollars in royalty payments each year. Can the young lady sing the song during her presentation without violating copyright? I believe the answer is yes. Some would argue the point, but I believe members giving educational presentations are similar to teachers in a classroom. We give them a little more freedom to use some materials than we would if the same materials were being used in an exhibit. Should the member credit the song writers? Yes, that is most appropriate, and if the member advances to state fair, she should be strongly encouraged to work that into her presentation. Do fees/royalty payments need to be made? If this were a commercial use, yes. In this 4-H use, no.
Now, who to credit? The Happy Birthday song has a most interesting history. The authors of the melody have been determined, but not the author(s) of the words. For way more information than you probably really want to know about the Happy Birthday song, an excellent article, complete with bibliography, is located at http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/birthday.htm . I have found the same information from several reliable sources, and believe the information in the referenced article to be accurate.
Graphics used by permission of Iowa State Fair