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A comment on Police playing music while being filmed, seemingly to trigger copyright filters. Parent comment

Re:Police playing music while being filmed, seemingly to tri... by talaketu on Tuesday February 09, 2021 @09:39PM (#26085197)
Not a stretch, considering this is their intent. See in particular the 2nd point from 17 U.S. Code § 101 - Definitions

  To perform or display a work “publicly” means—
  (1) to perform or display it at a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered; or
  (2) to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance or display of the work to a place specified by clause (1) or to the public, by means of any device or process, whether the members of the public capable of receiving the performance or display receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or at different times.
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Re:Police playing music while being filmed, seemingly to tri... by koheripbal on Tuesday February 09, 2021 @10:07PM (#26085337)
The purpose is to prevent revenue loss by the recording company who could host their own public event (or selling rights thereof). It would be an impossible argument to make that the police (or anyone) playing a song on their phone is reducing the ability of the record company from gaining revenues from hosting their own local event.
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Re:Police playing music while being filmed, seemingly to tri... by BLKNSLVR on Tuesday February 09, 2021 @10:17PM (#26085392)
And yet filming a police officer who's playing a copyrighted tune, and uploading it to Youtube results in a take-down.

I don't think many folks are going to YouTube to listen to music from a filmed phone.

"reducing the ability of the record company from gaining revenues"

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Re:Police playing music while being filmed, seemingly to tri... by pfortuny on Wednesday February 10, 2021 @02:55AM (#26086602)
Well, that is the difference between the rule of law (there are tribunals for deciding whether the police are breaking the law or not) and the rule of incorporated companies: you are screwed if they decide it...
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Re:Police playing music while being filmed, seemingly to tri... by koheripbal on Wednesday February 10, 2021 @01:25PM (#26092911)
The difference is that Google can do whatever it wants because it is a private company.

Misapplying the law because a private company does something is not a logical argument.

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Re:Police playing music while being filmed, seemingly to tri... by acoard on Wednesday February 10, 2021 @12:29PM (#26092140)
The author of the first public drinking law, in 1979, said on the law's purpose:

>"We do not recklessly expect the police to give a summons to a Con Ed worker having a beer with his lunch". [0]

Yet today, if you have a beer in the park at lunch you will get ticketed, or at least a warning. The lesson? Do not rely on discretion and restraint to make up for an overly expansive letter-of-the-law.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_of_New_York#cite_...

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Re:Police playing music while being filmed, seemingly to tri... by koheripbal on Wednesday February 10, 2021 @01:24PM (#26092901)
Are you making the argument that because the public alcohol ban is misused, that therefor we should also misuse this copyright law?
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Re:Police playing music while being filmed, seemingly to tri... by talaketu on Wednesday February 10, 2021 @05:13PM (#26095511)
They are pointing out that the codified law is applicable, not what you claim was the original purpose.

(I don't agree with you that the original purpose was restricted to protecting revenue. The original purpose of copyright law is to codify the moral rights associated with creative works. Moral rights are fundamentally a property right connecting the work to the person. When we hear that an artist tries to prevent their works being distorted by being associated with a certain political campaign, this is an appeal to this kind of right, not revenue.)

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Re:Police playing music while being filmed, seemingly to tri... by talaketu on Tuesday February 09, 2021 @11:17PM (#26085700)
It's not really about the purpose - it's about the rights. And it's rights in the plural - not just right to revenue - but also the exclusive right to public performance.
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