Discussion:
What is the name of your state?Illinois
I am translating Christian praise and worship music into the Haitian Creole langugage. My plan is to produce a songbook of 300 such translated songs, and to record (myself as singer and accompaniest) in 20 CD/cassette as “demonstrations” of all the songs in the songbook (Haitians learn by rote). We are a 501(c)3 organization, and Haiti is the poorest country in the hemisphere. This is a ministry; we plan to profit nothing but only to sell these at the lowest possible price so individuals and churches can purchase them, and so that we can simply continue to produce them.
I am a US citizen. But the materials will be produced and distributed exclusively in Haiti. The Haitian Creole language is spoken nowhere else in the world, so there is no other market for this.
I realize that I have issues of translation copyrights, print copyrights, mechanical copyrights, and I am also using some prerecorded traks in producing the demonstration CDs and cassettes.
Must I obey all US copyright laws in this situation since I am a US citizen? Or since these will be sold only in Haiti, is this project not subject to these laws?
My problem is, if I must pay (from what I understand) 8.5 cents per song per copy on each Cd/cassette, then I will have to price it too high for Haitians to purchase (each CD will have about 20 songs). Are there “dispensations” the music companies will give in this unusual situation?
No matter who I talk to (I haven’t hired a lawyer yet, though) I can’t get a clear answer to my legal responsibilities with doing this in Haiti.
Answer:
I am a US citizen. But the materials will be produced and distributed exclusively in Haiti. The Haitian Creole language is spoken nowhere else in the world, so there is no other market for this. Is ANY part of the creation or distribution done in the U.S.?
Must I obey all US copyright laws in this situation since I am a US citizen? Or since these will be sold only in Haiti, is this project not subject to these laws? If NO part of the creation, reproduction or distribution is done in the U.S., then you would be subject to the copyright laws of whatever country the creation, reproduction or distribution were done in.
My problem is, if I must pay (from what I understand) 8.5 cents per song per copy on each Cd/cassette, then I will have to price it too high for Haitians to purchase (each CD will have about 20 songs). Are there “dispensations” the music companies will give in this unusual situation? Check with the Harry Fox Agency to find out.
No matter who I talk to (I haven’t hired a lawyer yet, though) I can’t get a clear answer to my legal responsibilities with doing this in Haiti. If ANY part of the distribution, reproduction or creation (or translation) is done in the U.S., then you will be subject to U.S. copyright law for infringement if you don't obtain a license.
Like I noted above, if everything is done in Haiti, and you don't get a license, you may be liable for infringement under Haitian law -- copyright is national in scope, just being a U.S. citizen doesn't mean you'll be in trouble under U.S. law for infringement taht takes place ENTIRELY in Haiti.
But here's the kicker -- Haiti is a Berne Convention signatory, and is a member of WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Oraganization, which means that their copyright laws will be similar to U.S. laws, and that they will respect U.S. copyrights. So if you don't get a license, you'll be liable under Haitian law for copyright infringement.
But it gets even better -- because most of the record labels are here in the U.S., and you live in the U.S., the record companies could sue you in U.S. federal court for copyright infringement -- the court would have to use Haitian copyright law to find infringement (which may be good or bad for you), but this sort of thing is not that uncommon.
So, the point is -- even if EVERYTHING happens SOLELY in Haiti, you could still face liability in the U.S. for copyright infringement. So check with the Harry Fox Agency, and try and get those licenses squared away...