Why is it that all of the tabs have been removed when Title 17 of the USC states the following:


Title 17
Sec. 107. - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include -

(1)

the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2)

the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3)

the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4)

the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.


The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors

Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 107, United States Code
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Considering point number 1 especially, since the tabs were used for nonprofit educational purposes, even if you don't have the permission from the copyright holders, you are not in violation of the copyright laws. I would appreciate a response since this site is (in my own humble opinion) the best Christian guitar site on the web. (Of course, it's not now since it has no tabs

Phil

[Brent]

I don't agree with them either, but you're ignoring points 3 and 4, too. The 'amount and substantiality'.... 'in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole'. The tabs in question are using an ENTIRE copyrighted, not just a portion of it...I think that's one point that they have us on. The fourth point alone is enough to have the tabs removed in the eyes of the courts. Tabs being freely available has an affect on 'the potential market for or value of' the work. They look at it as taking away from the market value of their tab book products...and it does, just not enough to make a difference. But the point is that it does, in fact, take a way a little.

It is only using an entire copyrighted work if the lyrics are included.

Phil

Also, maybe it does take money away from their tab books but it is perfectly legal as long as people don't buy a tab book and copy it right on to the computer

Phil

[Kelly]

Originally posted by Unregistered
Also, maybe it does take money away from their tab books but it is perfectly legal as long as people don't buy a tab book and copy it right on to the computer

Phil

So, how do you propose that you would go about proving that you didn't use the book to tab a song? That's where it gets sticky.

IHPL,
Kelly

part of their reasoning might be your advertising

i realize it takes money to run a site but indirectly your making money of of tabs. ie in the advertising revenue. so that might be one of their reasons

but really It makes me mad
it shows how money is more important to them than spreading their music

and that is WRONG !

What if you were to change the words? or have like a web ring? with multiple sites. i think they got to yo and cgn because your so big. Your not just a smalltown player anymore.

?
Did they seize your evidence? or do you still have all the tab files at your access? or did you have to turn them over?

Have you thought about making another site? or multiple sites for just tabs?

[Kelly]

Okay, so do you want to pay our hosting bills each month? Because we run ads to pay the hosting bill and that keeps the site alive and running as smoothly as it does. Trust me, this is NOT cheap. Before you complain about the ads, perhaps you should consider that if there were no ads, there would be no site.

IHPL,
Kelly

[Brent]

Kelly is right...you don't realize how much bandwidth this site uses each day. The hosting costs for it are very high compared to many other sites. I would venture to guess that Mickey and Kelly make NO PROFIT on this site whatsoever. Any money they make goes to hosting fees. In fact, I would even say that sometimes they probably end up having to pay a little out of their own pocket to cover it....I sure hope not, but it wouldn't be surprising.

[Kelly]

Originally posted by Brent
Kelly is right...you don't realize how much bandwidth this site uses each day. The hosting costs for it are very high compared to many other sites. I would venture to guess that Mickey and Kelly make NO PROFIT on this site whatsoever. Any money they make goes to hosting fees. In fact, I would even say that sometimes they probably end up having to pay a little out of their own pocket to cover it....I sure hope not, but it wouldn't be surprising.

Well, with the way most of the advertisers pay these days, we usually get ZERO money for months until checks roll in, so - yes - we do wind up paying for it just by ourselves sometimes.

IHPL,
Kelly

You can prove that you didn't buy the book because a lot of the time (and I mean a lot) the company does not sell a book of tabs. 9 out of 10 times it is a "piano/vocal/guitar" book that just has the chords. And it isn't like people are stupid and can't figure things out for themselves. (Just my thoughts)

Phil

[Kelly]

However, it's still a case of your word against theirs, so that would not be easy to prove.

IHPL,
Kelly

[Mickey]

There has never been a court case dealing with guitar tabs. I think there would be a chance that the tab site would win, but it would cost a TON of money to fight it, regardless of whether you won or not. Still, maybe OLGA (http://www.olga.net/) can do it some day. Until then, we do what the publishers say.

IHL,
Mickey