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Oh hi, all-you-people-whom-are-smarter-than-me.

I've recently gotten my programming skills where I am about to attempt making a single level for a video game (not the point of the thread, so wont go into detail), not because I want to make games, but because I've heard it's good practice for when you learn a new programming language. Now, because I'm only practicing the programming (and have a friend doing the Sprites for practice for her art classes/Portfolio), I had a few questions about Copyright laws for anything I wanted to "borrow";

Naturally, no one could stop me from taking a sound track and plugging it into the game, so long as I never uploaded it to the internet, but if I'm working on something only to scrap it myself, kinda defeats the purpose of making a game.

So, Question Time (FOR ALL INTENTS, I will NOT charge money if I do go using a sound track. I will however direct people to those sound tracks/artists in the title/credits/everywhere!)

1) Assuming I put a song into the game and uploaded it into the internet (But not charge any money for it), does that fall under Fair Use?

2) Assuming I put said song into the game and fully credited the artist, how likely would I feast on a served C & D Order?

3) Assuming Points 1 and 2 are Green to Go, would any sort of backlash be worth the hassle regardless?


I'm a dummy when it comes to Copyright, and I'm not even sure it would be required (Talking to a friend of mine who plays Guitar and another who plays Keytar, so might be a moot point.)

I'm a layman, but your proposed purpose does not fit within fair use in my opinion regardless of how the artist is attributed.

So far as how likely a C&D is, no one is likely to be able to predict that. It's significantly higher if this is a for-profit venture, obviously, but even a free game wouldn't obviate the need to license a third party's music.

Have you considered googling royalty free music, or just paying someone?

I've got a friend who can play the Guitar and another who does the Keytar (Really, the two instruments I need), but I have yet to ask them about it due to how much homework they already have.

Just kind of considering my options as of this point. Worse comes to worse, I'll send everyone to the depths of Hades with my own guitar playing

 Slarg232 wrote:
1) Assuming I put a song into the game and uploaded it into the internet (But not charge any money for it), does that fall under Fair Use?

No. Fair Use on paper is rather clear, but in practice is a very wonky thing. In this case, I would say no. That is not fair use. As a rule of thumb follow these guidelines to fair use;

-Are you critiquing the work and include sections of it in your critique/review/analysis?
-Is it a parody?
-Are you using the work to educate others about something?

Generally, if any of the above are 'yes' then it could (but not necessarily) be considered fair use. And naturally, you still have to give credit;

2) Assuming I put said song into the game and fully credited the artist, how likely would I feast on a served C & D Order?

Realistically? Unless it becomes popular/widespread, the IP holder is likely to never hear about it.

3) Assuming Points 1 and 2 are Green to Go, would any sort of backlash be worth the hassle regardless?

Not really. One thing to keep in mind is that it's not just the IP holder you need to worry about. Throw in a Link'n Park song, and the fans might just get more than rabid enough to make you regret it.

What licencing does the song have? Is it in the public domain?

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:
What licencing does the song have? Is it in the public domain?

I don't know


Thanks, Hats, your post was most informative.

If you make the level available to the general public you are publishing it. This would not be fair dealing.

Whereas if you use it for private study or as a submission to your lecturer it would come under fair dealing.

 Slarg232 wrote:
1) Assuming I put a song into the game and uploaded it into the internet (But not charge any money for it), does that fall under Fair Use?

Absolutely not. Fair use does not mean "non-commercial" or "I think this is reasonable and isn't hurting anyone", it's a specific exemption that allows you to use limited sections of copyrighted material for purposes of discussing it. For example, you could use catalog pictures from the GW website in a blog post discussing the new DE releases even though those pictures are copyrighted material owned by GW and GW hasn't given you permission to use them. This would be fair use because discussing the pictures requires posting them for everyone to see what you're talking about, and the catalog pictures are a very small portion of the overall copyrighted material (model designs, etc). Your game would not be fair use because it has no discussion or educational value, you don't want to have to make your own music.

2) Assuming I put said song into the game and fully credited the artist, how likely would I feast on a served C & D Order?

Credit has nothing to do with it. The only question here is whether or not anyone notices you. If only you and a few friends ever see the game then you'll probably get away with it. If you get any attention and someone working for the copyright owner sees it they'll probably send you a C&D letter and you will have no choice but to obey it.

3) Assuming Points 1 and 2 are Green to Go, would any sort of backlash be worth the hassle regardless?

Not really. Even if you could win a case against them lawyers cost money, so as soon as you get a C&D letter you're going to have to remove the song from your game anyway. So what's the point? Either make your own music, or find music that has been made freely available for people to use.