Discussion:
I am starting a project to create a freely available Karaoke game in which one would sing along with music and have one's pitch measured against the melody of the voice for accuracy. My question is this: in order to implement this system, I will need to be able to distribute a file containing the lyrics and melody of a song to people. I will not be distributing the song itself, and will have a copyright agreement before the download is possible that would require users to own the music for which they are downloading the karaoke files, but I wanted to make sure that this would be acceptable under fair use guidelines.
In summary, I would like to distribute a file that will allow someone to turn a song that they have a legal, digital copy of into a Karaoke-playable game song by downloading a file that would have lyrics and melody to configure the program. Is this legal?
Answer:
From the way you discribed it no, it is not legal.
Answer:
Could you explain a little more in-depth? I would not be distributing the original song in any form, and in order to download any of the Karaoke configuration files they would need to agree to a statement saying that they have purchased all music for which they are downloading the said files...
Since there are plenty of midi and lyrics sites that offer this content for free all over the net, I'm sort of surprised that this is illegal.
Answer:
So, since so many others are doing it that makes it legal? Sorry, no go.
You are distributing a derivitative work. Even with the agreement that the user owns the original, that doesn't resolve your liability. Offer the program WITHOUT the downloads.
Answer:
Sorry to bug you, but would this be true if the downloadable files were completely useless without a digital copy of the song itself? True, they could obtain the music illegitimately, but I thought the standard was for "substantive non-infringing use." So if they would be unable to listen or view any kind of access to the derived work without having a digital copy of the original, does this still constitute infringement?
I could distribute sans-config files but that would almost defeat the point of the game if users are forced to make their own in a relatively difficult process for every song they want to sing. Thanks for your help.