Legal

Karaoke Legal Talk - What's Happening with Karaoke This page is here to discuss the current issues going on in the world of Karaoke. To put it mildly, Karaoke and the Karaoke Scene is a mess right now for publishers, disc manufacturers, karaoke hosts and karaoke companies.

Statement of fact. - I am not an attorney and this page represents my opinions based on a GREAT deal of research.
I have consulted and received many attorney's opinions as well, however, all of this is purely speculation as there has never been a case of Karaoke format shifting or Music format shifting ruled upon in any US Court.

Format Shifting would be putting a CDG's content into a hard drive, DVD, or CDG backup. The Digital Music Industry has become a multi-billion dollar industry, and one of the largest winners in all of this has been Sound Choice who is one of the largest supplier of midi style Cell phone ring-tones.
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So let's talk about the laws that exist and what they cover.

1st thing mentioned is US Copyright laws (17 U.S.C. §§ 102, 201, 201d) so I suggest you click on the link and download your very own copy. This is an adobe acrobat file and you can search it for text. I recommend that you search for the word "karaoke" - It does not appear!. next search for the word "graphic" - it does not appear!

Next thing mentioned is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA, title 1, and 17 U.S.C. §§ 109, 117). so I suggest you click on the link and download your very own copy. This is an adobe acrobat file and you can search it for text. I recommend that you search for the word "karaoke" - It does not appear!. next search for the word "graphic" - it does not appear!

So looking at the above statements, if you were to state that this law pertains to the karaoke industry it would need to be applied via case law or actually ruled upon in a an actual court. .

There is NO LAW that SPECIFICALLY deals with Karaoke disks.” - egodfrey.

Now BC went on to assert many of his opinions after this, but once again, the only factual statement is that there has never been a case ruled on. ANY other content is speculation until it is ruled upon in a court of law. Please feel free to go to Sound Choice's Karaoke Forums to read both viewpoints.
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Let's look at how an actual law firm interpreted these items:

Please see www.IPJustice.org - Entire article - http://ipjustice.org/wp/2007/02/22/karaoke_legal_myths/
Here is a PDF file of this document as it appears:

This is based on an original article that appeared several years ago:
Digital Copyright Question: Fair Use of Karaoke CDG's - Click to view article

Bottom line is that when it finally goes to a court this decision will hinge on the definition of "Fair Use"

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Now let's get back to some facts.

1. The Karaoke industry is being damaged severely by pirating, illegal copies, illegal downloads etc. I will never disagree with this and you would be hard pressed to find anyone in the industry who does not agree with this.

2. If you are making copies of an original karaoke disc and selling them...on hard drives, burnt discs, DVD's, Super CDG's.. whatever format... you are breaking the law! No disagreement here with that viewpoint!

3. If you are buying 1 copy of a disc and you are then putting that on a hard drive or burning multiple copies for use at shows... you are breaking the law! Anytime you buy 1 copy of a disc and make multiple copies to be used at simultaneous venues, you are displacing a sale and taking money away from the manufacturer. No disagreement on this statement.

4. Downloading from any shared site without a legal license and payment per song is a violation of copyright laws. Many file sharing sites have popped up and are rampant for providing songs at no cost, which displaces a sale. This is illegal.

5. Buying a hard drive loaded with songs instead of buying through normal channels (manufacturers) is displacing sales and is illegal.. Once again, no argument. This takes money away from manufacturers and artists and it gives companies music with nearly no cost allowing them an unfair competitive advantage in the market.

6. In all of these areas we fully support any manufacturer who is trying to keep the industry legal and fair to all hosting companies, artists, singers, etc.
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Now for some opinions.

1. These are our opinions and do not represent any factual content. This is what is considered gray area until there is a legal case to support it or to contradict it.

2. We believe that if you have purchased a work of art (music) in any format, you have a right to protect it in regards to security, archival, ease of use, archival by putting it into a digital format of your choice**. However, you CAN NOT make multiple copies of this work for use on multiple systems. If you own 4 Karaoke and or DJ systems that are out working, events, you must purchase 4 copies of the musical work.
** with the caveat that if you are downloading music from a paid site, you must adhere to their terms of service, which include, no shifting of the format to any style other than those they list.

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We would love to hear your comments on these issues. If you have a valid point to make please send us an e-mail at: webmaster@azkaraokealliance.com