SAY NO TO PIRACY
U.S. Copyright Law {Title 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq., Title 18 U.S.C. Section 2319} Federal law protects copyright owners from the unauthorized reproduction, adaptation, performance, display or distribution of copyright protected works.
Penalties for copyright infringement differ in civil and criminal cases. Civil remedies are generally available for any act of infringement without regard to the intention or knowledge of the defendant, or harm to the copyright owner. Criminal penalties are available for intentional acts undertaken for purposes of "commercial advantage" or "private financial gain." "Private financial gain" includes the possibility of financial loss to the copyright holder as well as traditional "gain" by the defendant.
Where the infringing activity is for commercial advantage or private financial gain, sound recording infringements can be punishable by up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Repeat offenders can be imprisoned for up to 10 years. Violators can also be held civilly liable for actual damages, lost profits, or statutory damages up to $150,000 per work.
The Federal Anti-Bootleg Statute {18 USC 2319A} prohibits the unauthorized recording, manufacture, distribution, or trafficking in sound recordings or videos of artists' live musical performances. Violators can be punished with up to 5 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
Two important legal concepts, especially pertaining to the Internet, should be kept in mind—contributory infringement and vicarious liability.
Contributory infringement may be found where a person, with knowledge of the infringing activity, induces, causes, or materially contributes to the infringing conduct of another. For example, a link site operator may be liable for contributory infringement by knowingly linking to infringing files.
Vicarious liability may be imposed where an entity or person has the right and ability to control the activities of the direct infringer and also receives a financial benefit from the infringing activities. Vicarious liability may be imposed even if the entity is unaware of the infringing activities. In the case of a site retransmitting infringing programs, providing direct access to infringing works may show a right and ability to control the activities of the direct infringer, and receiving revenue from banner ads or e-commerce on the site may be evidence of a financial benefit.
For additional information, see the US Copyright Office.
Fair Use Doctrine {USC Title 17, Sec 107} The "fair use doctrine" of federal law is a complicated area. Basically, it limits the extent of property interest granted to the copyright holder. For example, this might allow citizens to cite a quotation from copyrighted material when the excerpt is used for teaching, research, news reporting, comment, criticism or parody.
There are some limitations. Whether the court allows you to reproduce, distribute, adapt, display and/or perform copyrighted works depends upon the nature of the use (commercial purposes, non-profit, educational), the length of the excerpt, how distinctive the original work is, and how the use will impact the market for the original work.
Generally speaking, one is not allowed to take the "value" of a song without permission, and sometimes that value is found even in a three-second clip. When in doubt, it is always wise to check with the copyright owner, because in many cases even a small clip of a song may not be "fair use."
The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act This law extends U.S. copyright from life of the author plus 50 years, to life of the author plus 70 years. For "works made for hire," the term is extended from 75 to 95 years. This law should end the discrimination against U.S. works abroad, where countries applied a copyright to U.S. works which resulted in American creators receiving less protection than their foreign counterparts.
State
State anti-piracy laws generally mirror the federal laws. Most states have unauthorized duplication statutes that make it illegal to copy, reproduce, and distribute sound recordings without authorization. Those statutes apply to songs recorded before recorded before February 15, 1972, the date that sound recordings were added … as well as to all foreign works that are not subject to the list of works protected by federal copyright law, as well as to all foreign works that were not subject to protection under federal copyright legislation.
Some states have unfair competition laws that address piracy. Nearly all have true name and address statutes that make it illegal to manufacture, sell, distribute, or possess for those purposes, CDs, tapes, or records that don't have the name and address of the manufacturer, and in some cases the performer as well. California, Florida, and New York have all passed legislation requiring optical disk manufacturers to permanently identify each disk with the manufacturer’s name and state. This protection is vital to maintaining a healthy and viable entertainment and software industry in California.
Many states also have bootleg statutes much like the federal one.