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iOS Music names copyright

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Pikasso

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 16, 2012
1
0
Hello. I'm planning to do an game application. And i need to use names of musicians and songs in it (without songs, just the names), for example:
PSY - Gangnam Style. The app will be commercial. Can i do it, or the names are also copyrighted and i need to contacts the rights owners? :eek:

Thank you.
 
Menel

Menel

Suspended
Aug 4, 2011
6,351
1,356
Legal advice from a bunch of kids on an anonymous Internet forum hmmmm

I would think trying to boost quality of your game by leveraging the fame someone else built would be frowned upon.
 
ArtOfWarfare

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,558
6,058
IANAL, but I would guess this is a bad idea. Talk to your lawyer.

Quick, only slightly related question: if I have a legal question but would like to get an answer without paying a lot for it, does asking a law student on campus seem like a good idea?
 
chown33

chown33

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 9, 2009
10,740
8,416
A sea of green
ArtOfWarfare said:
Quick, only slightly related question: if I have a legal question but would like to get an answer without paying a lot for it, does asking a law student on campus seem like a good idea?
Click to expand...

IANAL, but logic suggests the following:

Any law student accepting payment for legal advice would be practicing law without a license, i.e. giving legal advice for payment, which is generally considered illegal or at least unethical. Any law student who knows this would thus decline your question and/or your offer of payment. Any law student who doesn't know this (or is unable to deduce it using logic) probably isn't worth getting legal advice from.

Short answer: Seems like a bad idea, but consult a real legal adviser first.
 
Last edited:
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lloyddean

macrumors 65816
May 10, 2009
1,047
19
Des Moines, WA
Not a lawyer, of course, but the information would seem to be comprised of "facts" and facts I do not believe are copyrightable.

I'd be interested in what you find out.
 
waterskier2007

waterskier2007

macrumors 68000
Jun 19, 2007
1,871
228
Novi, MI
lloyddean said:
Not a lawyer, of course, but the information would seem to be comprised of "facts" and facts I do not believe are copyrightable.

I'd be interested in what you find out.
Click to expand...

This seems like the correct answer, although it might be frowned upon. For instance it is a fact that PSY is the artist behind "Gangnam Style" so using those two things together doesn't seem like it would be illegal. For instance, I could publish an app that offered music reviews and as long as I don't lie about the music I wouldn't foresee a problem.
 
D

dbhoward20

macrumors newbie
Dec 19, 2012
4
0
Pikasso said:
Hello. I'm planning to do an game application. And i need to use names of musicians and songs in it (without songs, just the names), for example:
PSY - Gangnam Style. The app will be commercial. Can i do it, or the names are also copyrighted and i need to contacts the rights owners? :eek:

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Good luck, if your app will be making a profit kiss you app goodbye and second if you are not charging for it it will still be taken down because of copyright, yes you have to obtain permission from the copyright holder but not without a hefty price. Stick with royalty free music as it is a lot safer and trust me there are some really good songs out there under RF.
 
dejo

dejo

Moderator emeritus
Sep 2, 2004
15,982
452
The Centennial State
dbhoward20 said:
Good luck, if your app will be making a profit kiss you app goodbye and second if you are not charging for it it will still be taken down because of copyright, yes you have to obtain permission from the copyright holder but not without a hefty price. Stick with royalty free music as it is a lot safer and trust me there are some really good songs out there under RF.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you misunderstood the OP but Pikasso is asking about just the names and artists of songs, not using the the actual audio from the songs at all.
 
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