Is This Legal Internationally? Can It Be Advertised Online?

by King Shiloh Banned
15 replies
I have a friend who owns a licensed/registered and popular music studio here in Nigeria. he has most of the old time music albums such as music of the 70's that are not in CD format and he has the equipment which can be used to convert the albums to CDs but he wants to know if its legal internationally.

According to him, he has already shipped some of the already converted albums via courier services, precisely FedEx and DHL. He said that he's already making some money from it but he wants to know if it's legal internationally and if he can advertise or promote the business, if legal, online.
#advertised #internationally #legal #online #thia
  • Profile picture of the author Defunct
    Originally Posted by King Shiloh View Post

    I have a friend who owns a licensed/registered and popular music studio here in Nigeria. he has most of the old time music albums such as music of the 70's that are not in CD format and he has the equipment which can be used to convert the albums to CDs but he wants to know if its legal internationally.

    According to him, he has already shipped some of the already converted albums via courier services, precisely FedEx and DHL. He said that he's already making some money from it but he wants to know if it's legal internationally and if he can advertise or promote the business, if legal, online.
    Music is generally owned by the creator or music label, so it's not legal to copy or sell.

    Even if it's not on cd the rights are still owned by somebody else, you would really have to check on each individual song about ownership.
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    • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
      IANAL. So take this with a pinch of salt.

      I can't imagine the likes of, for example, Paul Mcartney, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rolling Stones or many 70's artists who are still alive being happy about this. They will have much deeper pockets when it comes to lawyers than your friend does and he could find himself without a studio very quickly!

      Perhaps he would be better advised to promote unknown, up and coming local artists in need of some exposure and that all important lucky break.
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      • Profile picture of the author LetsGoViral
        Originally Posted by rosetrees View Post

        IANAL. So take this with a pinch of salt.

        I can't imagine the likes of, for example, Paul Mcartney, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rolling Stones or many 70's artists who are still alive being happy about this. They will have much deeper pockets when it comes to lawyers than your friend does and he could find himself without a studio very quickly!

        Perhaps he would be better advised to promote unknown, up and coming local artists in need of some exposure and that all important lucky break.
        Yes, but the real question is - is someone going to bother going to Nigeria and sue him?
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    • Profile picture of the author StanCan
      It is illegal and the only way this business can thrive is through underground channels. The moment he advertises and some artists got wind of it, who knows what could happen. His website can be taken down in the least. There's a huge market for vinyl records, I think he can capitalize on that niche if he wants to go legit.
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      • Profile picture of the author typhoon
        Originally Posted by StanCan View Post

        It is illegal and the only way this business can thrive is through underground channels. The moment he advertises and some artists got wind of it, who knows what could happen. His website can taken down in the least. There's a huge market for vinyl records, I think he can capitalize on that niche if he wants to go legit.
        O agree to Stancan. The thing your friend is doing looks to be illegal and make sure if he still wants to make money with this then keep as hidden as possible.
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    • Profile picture of the author King Shiloh
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Gail_Curran View Post

      Aside from the fact that if he has no rights to reproduce the music, it's piracy, which is theft. Stealing. But who cares about right and wrong when money is involved.
      Seriously, I care about right or wrong when money is involved.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by King Shiloh View Post

    I have a friend who owns a licensed/registered and popular music studio here in Nigeria. he has most of the old time music albums such as music of the 70's that are not in CD format and he has the equipment which can be used to convert the albums to CDs but he wants to know if its legal internationally.
    I'm afraid it's definitely not, KS. It's one of the most blatant breaches of copyright imaginable.

    Copyright law, for the most part, is civil law, not criminal law (there are some exceptions to this, though) so it's probably "getting sued" that's the realistic potential legal problem here, rather than "getting prosecuted". The point is that what he's doing is breaching the copyrights of the copyright holders of the older, vinyl/tape versions from which he's reproducing the CD's.

    This doesn't, of course, actually answer the question you asked. But the answer to that question depends on the terms of service of the sites/businesses through whom he wants to advertise it online, and what their policies are when someone advertising is breaching third party civil law rights. It's never a trivial question. The reality is that some people/companies care about it and others don't.

    I'm not a lawyer, nor even available to play one on TV (but will play a judge if the fee's right).
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  • Profile picture of the author King Shiloh
    Banned
    Alexa,

    Thanks for the response.

    Honestly, you will make a good "Virtual" Lawyer apart from being an established writer.
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  • Profile picture of the author derrickzv
    Limewire was shut down for doing exactly what you are suggesting...it's theft.plain and simple...nothing to debate...sell em, you will be in deep doo-doo!
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by King Shiloh View Post

    he wants to know if its legal internationally.
    If you live in a country which is not signatory to any international copyright agreement, it may be legal. But check with an attorney specialising in such matters.

    Tuvalu and Somalia come to mind. There's a reason so many pirate sites are on .tv domains, you know.
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  • Profile picture of the author jlgbuss
    Not sure if this is a profitable business anyway. How many songs can't be found in MP3 online witt some or little effort?
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  • Profile picture of the author richjo
    Every country has it own copyright laws. In the uk, the copyright of a price of literature is generally 50 years from the end of the calendar yeAr after it was created. This happened recently with a lot of Elvis material, and cliff Richard has recently tried to intervene to prevent copyright loss on his own material. Some countries it is 75 years and others 120 years. I do believe though at copyright and ownership are different, and the soundtrack, even though you have paid for it, generally remains the property of the studio it was released under and it's predecessors.

    As already mentioned though, are these studios willing to follow a trail of booty material to Nigeria and take legal action? Probably not. I cant see sir elton John swimming the Niger delta to chase up unpaid royalties.
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    • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
      Originally Posted by richjo View Post

      ..... I cant see sir elton John swimming the Niger delta to chase up unpaid royalties.
      But I bet he can afford a lawyer who would!
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by rosetrees View Post

        Originally Posted by richjo View Post

        I cant see sir elton John swimming the Niger delta to chase up unpaid royalties.
        But I bet he can afford a lawyer who would!
        A widespread and understandable confusion: those ones who can swim are technically called "sharks", not "lawyers" ...
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        • Profile picture of the author King Shiloh
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          A widespread and understandable confusion: those ones who can swim are technically called "sharks", not "lawyers" ...
          Conscience is the best lawyer/judge. If you can allow your conscience to judge you before you take any actions, you might never go wrong. Though some people have dead conscience no wonder there are problems everywhere in the world.
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