Copyright Infringement by the RIAA

Thanks to the guys at LinkFilter.net and ultimately, this guy for finding a spot on the RIAA’s website that infringes on a copyright of Paul Simon’s without following the proper rules of “Fair Use”.

The song “Boy in the Bubble” is the first track on Paul Simon’s Grammy-winning album Graceland. The lyrics to one verse:

It’s a turn-around jump shot
It’s everybody jump start
It’s every generation throws a hero up the pop charts
Medicine is magical and magical is art
The Boy in the Bubble
And the baby with the baboon heart

Paul Simon owns the copyright to that song and those lyrics (and I’m pretty sure I’m legally entitled, under the rules of “Fair Use”, to post it here, since I just gave you a small section and I credited him).

The Recording Industry Association of America claims to be protecting the rights of copyright owners like Simon. I wanted to know more about this whole copyright issue, so I went to the RIAA’s web site. Check out this page (click, you fool). Specifically, check out the first nine words of the third paragraph. They read: “Every generation throws a hero up the pop charts.”

The phrase is not in quotes, and no one is credited.

So, unless I’m mistaken and the pharse “Every generation throws a hero up the pop charts,” is some sort of common expression, the RIAA is doing a pretty good job of showing us how not to respect copyrights.

Commentors over at Linfilter note that MSNBC and ABC News understand the rules. I’d love to hear from our resident lawyers…

Posted by etrigan at December 2, 2003 9:12 PM