To report or not to report — Page 2

Jay, just a thought though, what would the little Mexican children do to musicaltheatrefan3 if they knew who he/she was and knew where he/she lived?

^^^^

You do have a point!

But c'mon....the only thing THEY can do is to remove the youtube and what made you think .. they wont put it back? lol...

In any form.. I do not patronize it...but I wont get all work-up for a FOREST FIRE that's hard to control with my small shovel.

That's just my opinion!


J*

Updated On: 4/18/08 at 06:09 PM

I don't know much about the whole rights thing..how they are obtained, if they are obtainable at all...etc..

In all seriousness though, my question is, What's the big deal? If there was a small production of Wicked below 14th St, I get it..but this is a school somewhere in Mexico, where there probably aren't laws like this there.

The laws apply everywhere in the world. Usually, after a show has been out for 10+ years, they start releasing rights, but some never do. Once they release rights, anyone that pays the royalty fees can do the production. They are licensed for that. When someone doesn't pay royalties, or if that shows rights aren't out, they are doing something illegal. They can be sued for a lot of money from the shows legal team. It is very serious. Every time someone does a show illegally, that show loses money. It's very sad that some people take this lightly, because it's just as bad as doing anything else illegal, like plagurism.

The laws apply everywhere in the world.

No, international copyright does not apply EVERYWHERE in the world. Foreign countries also have the disadvantage of not being able to get the rights in their own language, so it gives them more of an excuse to not even think about paying for rights.

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And as I said before, no one is going to sue SantaMariaJuana Elementary in Mexico for not getting rights to do some musical lypsynching to a CD.

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musicaltheatrefan3:
"The laws apply everywhere in the world."

The laws only apply to those countries that have signed international copyright treaties. No law applies everywhere. One example: After the collapse of the Soviet Union into a Commonwealth of Independent States and non-commonwealth states, treaties with the Soviet Union were obsolete. There was a period of time before new laws and treaties were enacted where pirating was rampant, mostly in the recording industry. Even when new laws were enacted it was a period of time before enforcement became efficient, since enforcement was up to the discretion of the enforcer who sometimes would make things "negotiable".

That said, I believe in giving the creator of a work what is rightfully theirs.

As for a Mexican elementary school; if it was my work I'd probably just look the other way and figure that it'll probably help their school, maybe they can charge a small admission and help fund some class project in the future.... what lawyer would even be able to recover legal fees anyway?.... just wish they'd ask first....

Updated On: 4/19/08 at 07:41 PM

Forget about it. Let it go by.

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I would.

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You people gotta learn to mind your own damn business.

You wanna make a difference?

STOP buying coffee that exploits these poor latin american farmers.

STOP buying cheap clothes at Walmart or other stores that exploits children in the third world country...


Do you want my honest opinion?

This thread is REdiculous!!! If the original poster wants to help..he would have done it with creating a BIG BROADWAY PRODUCTION NUMBER!!!


J*

Updated On: 4/18/08 at 07:45 AM

If I saw it somewhere near where I live, I would report it. If I just saw a video on YouTube, I would not.

I know a couple years ago there was a thread similar to this about someone seeing a illegal production of Les Mis at a high school in their community and everyone was saying don't be a snitch, myself included. But since I have been considered going into a profession where copyrights are a factor (especially with the JKR case going on right now) I think something like that should be reported.

This mind your own business sentimentally is a little disturbing to me. Should that continue to any times someone is breaking the law? If you see a someone steal a women's purse should you mind your own business then?

If many groups, especially schools and community theaters, continue to believe that it is acceptable to just steal shows without the rights, it may become much harder for anyone to get these rights that are not professionals. And the laws could get stricter over how closely it is monitored and what can or cannot be altered.

Jay, (and Yankeefan) you may very well be right, but the larger issue is one of copyright infringement, which when you come right down to it is piracy. Just because they are children doesn't mean they should be held to a lesser standard. As has been stated in this thread, when they are allowed to proceed they are essentially being taught that what they are doing (stealing) is okay. And then we all wonder where this sense of entitlement comes from.

Perhaps I'm a bit more sensitive to this because as a writer I do enjoy getting my royalty checks, however pitifully small they may be right now. But I work hard on my plays and when they are produced, I want to see a financial reward for that work. As do other artists. As do grocery store clerks, cab drivers, accountants, lawyers, doctors - anyone who works at anything deserves to be compensated. We have the copyright laws in place to ensure that artists are protected. They aren't perfect, but they are the law.

Rosalind Russell put it best in her autobiography when she talked about the demand for tickets to WONDERFUL TOWN in 1953. She had the largest bill for house seats in Broadway history up to that time, as she firmly believed that tickets should be paid for and she'd pay for them herself if her friends didn't cough up the money. She compared it to going to the butcher and asking for free meat - something you just wouldn't even consider doing. So why should anyone think that theatre is any different? It is a business, after all.

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D2- I do agree with you...

My problem is the intention of the poster...who started several threads (4) yesterday about WICKED...then later asking how to edit something on YouTube..WTF?!

Sorry for being a b*tch! I am just tired of reading kid's post, responding & realizing later that they are just bunch of kids (fyi- I can be their parent already.. if I had a kid -when I was 17 yrs old..lol!)

I am 36 yrs old. My patience is running low. These kids need to get off the computer and stop talking about the same OLD crap. So we adults.. can talk about our passion which is the THEATER in general.

J*

Updated On: 4/18/08 at 08:33 AM