Hoop Dee Doo Revue sued for Copyright Infringement

[MandMandMandMandM 31]

Our beloved Hoop Dee Doo Revue is being sued for Copyright Infringement.  The song that the entire show & the title of the show are based on, is a parody of a song from 1950.  The owners of the copyright to the original don't like it that the words were all changed to fit to the storyline.  After 60 years?!?!?!?  I mean c'mon are you really serious??  No unlimited strawberry shortcake and beer for those people.

[bigdisneydaddy 9]

They are a little late to the party on that one.

[AuburnJen 771]

I agree. 

[Grumpy and Grandma 739]

According to the Copyright laws they may have a case.  http://www.rbs2.com/copyrm.pdf

PERRY COMO

"Hoop-Dee-Doo"

(Frank Loesser and Milton De Lugg)

Hoop-dee-doo, hoop-dee-doo

I hear a polka and my troubles are through

Hoop-dee-doo, hoop-dee-dee

This kind of music is like heaven to me

Hoop-dee-doo, hoop-dee-doo

Has got me higher than a kite

Hand me down my soup and fish

I am gonna get my wish

Hoop-dee-doin' it tonight

[Otter Spotter aka Debbie 58]

Having been a church musician for over 30 years, and a professional musician in my younger years, I am very concerned with copyrighted material being used improperly for profit.  The people who write the music, get it published, and the publishing companies, all deserve the money they have rightfully earned and protected by copyrighting it.  The WDW Corporation should know this better than anyone else.

When I sang professionally to supplement my income in my younger years I and my fellow band members belonged to the Buffalo Musicians' Association - which was a chapter of the American Federation of Musicians. In WNY you literally could not get "gigs" unless you belonged to the BMA.  The BMA carefully monitored the performers to make sure the music they were performing was done with permission. The band I sang & played with learned this on our first "gig" at a high school dance. A representative of the BMA was at the dance and after we were done for the night,  asked to see our sheet music for the songs we performed.  Sheet music?  Uh...we were a bunch of kids that took a garage band to the next level. Garage bands typically listened to songs over and over again and figured them out on their own.  We knew nothing about buying the actual sheet music.  Well, we found out very quickly that evening.  We had to turn all our earnings for that evening over to the BMA and attend some classes regarding copyright infringement before we could book another job. 

I could go on and on about how many churches illegally copy choir music, use power point for lyrics without paying CCLI licensing fees, or fail to seek written permission to use songs from publishers that do not belong to the CCLI.  The bottom line is, it is stealing to use someones' music without paying for it - no matter how you use it.

Yes, I love the "How-do-ya-do review" as much as the next person, but if the music was used illegally, I say sue away. It is a form of theft unless the music has been deemed "Public Domain".

http://www.disunplugged.com/2011/03/25/hoop-dee-doo-musical-revue-subject-of-copyright-battle/

[Grumpy and Grandma 739]

Deb, If it's used in a "Worship Service" it seems to be exempt.  If it is part of a play or fund raiser then premission is needed.

[Otter Spotter aka Debbie 58]

Deb, If it's used in a "Worship Service" it seems to be exempt.  If it is part of a play or fund raiser then premission is needed.

Nope - trust me on this one as I have been to and led numerous church music workshops over the years, belonged to the American Guild of Organists and have been a church music director since 1977. Music used in a worship service in not exempt from copyright laws. You have to pay a licensing fee based on the number of members you have in your church.  The only music that can be used in a worship service without permission are those songs or hymns that are now public domain.  If you look in any hymnal you will see the copyright information printed on the bottom of each page that contains hymns.  You should also find copyright information regarding a liturgical worship service - if the church uses one.

Unless the writer of the hymn is unknown, even hymns that are now public domain will still credit the lyricist and the tune writer - if they are different people.  An example would be the ever-loved hymn: "Be Still My Soul".  The lyrics were written in the 1700's by Katharina Von Schlegel.  The tune for this hymn is based on "Finlandia" written in the 1800's by Jean Sibelius.  Both the lyrics and the tune are public domain and can be used by anyone in any situation - in their original form.  If, however, a composer uses the lyrics and tune in an original arrangement, that composer & his/her publishing company can copyright the arrangement and are entitled to be paid for its' usage. 

A lot of independent, non-denominational churches are of the mistaken opinion that lyrics and music can be used in a worship service free of charge. I understand they do not realize what they are doing, but they are, in fact, stealing from the original composer and publishing house if they do not have permission to use it. 

When I was actively engaged in the American Guild of Organists in Sarasota, Florida, we had a committee that offered to go to churches to educate the music directors and Pastors about the copyright laws.  Technically speaking, although not stringently enforced, there should be one piece of music for each person singing if you do not subscribe to a music licensing agreement based on the number of members in your church.  It is not permissible to use lyrics on power point screens or to type out lyrics on song sheets without a licensing agreement or direct permission from the publishing house that originally printed the sheet music. Unauthorized copying of music or use of lyrics has contributed greatly to the high cost of sheet music for church choirs - and the churches themselves have been the culprits.  At the second church I was choir director of, I went thru the music files and I could not believe all the copied music.  Apparently, the previous director would go to choir reading sessions where they gave packets of about 100 anthems to the attendees, and she thought it was okay to copy enough music for her choir from her one "free" copy.  She even copied music that had watermarks stating "Do Not Copy" thru the music staffs.  YIKES!!

I could write a book on this but - I think you get the idea.

[kampfirekim 260]

Yeap.  Deb got it right on this one.  Our church pays the CCLI fees for ANY and ALL music used in any capacity.

[BRDof3...Rob 40]

Gee Debbie, it's too bad you don't know anything about your subject matter.  :rofl2:

[Otter Spotter aka Debbie 58]

Yeap.  Deb got it right on this one.  Our church pays the CCLI fees for ANY and ALL music used in any capacity.

To expand on this... not all music is covered under the CCLI licensing agreement.  There are some publishing companies (albeit very few) that do not subscribe to this service.

If your church uses independently typed song sheets, songs contained in the bulletin, or on power point screens, the words MUST be followed by the following disclaimer - I'll use an example from the CCLI Handbook:

Hallelujah

Hallelujah!

Hallelujah!

Hallelujah!

Let heaven and earth sing Hallelujah;

Glory to the Risen King, Hallelujah!

Words and music by John Doe

? 2000 Good Music Co.

CCLI #000000

If you sought permission independently, you must retain a copy of the letter of permission for one year from usage date and then show:

Words and music by John Doe

? 2000 Good Music Co.

Used by permission.

Permission is granted by publishing companies usually for one time usage only unless you advised them that you would be using the music on multiple occasions - then they may charge you a fee.  They may charge for the one time only usage, as well.

[Otter Spotter aka Debbie 58]

Gee Debbie, it's too bad you don't know anything about your subject matter.  :argh:

This is one subject I happen to know more about than what I know about Disney!!!  :rofl2:  :dance:

[Grumpy and Grandma 739]

No argument,  just quoting page 5 item#3  http://www.rbs2.com/copyrm.pdf

Also forgot to mention he may have trouble winning this one.  Did more research since my first post this morning and the "Original" Hoop-Dee-Doo with Perry Como is a "FREE" ringtone download for the Android phone.  So it appears to be in the "public domain" already.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I love ribs. 

Sorry...back to the discussion at hand. 

[AuburnJen 771]

Yeap.  Deb got it right on this one.  Our church pays the CCLI fees for ANY and ALL music used in any capacity.

We do as well for our Praise Band music and the choir music, as well as to have the lyrics up on the PowerPoint.  After reading the ins and outs, I may be changing my mind here on this.  There is going to be a huge argument on both sides.  Disney is claiming it is a parody and that they have waited far too long to file against them.  Only the latter seems to hold any weight, and the more I think about it, the more iffy it is in my mind.

[4mickey2 41]

I love ribs. 

Sorry...back to the discussion at hand.

i do too...

[Auntie 17]

Aww Jese Louise, my head is spinning after reading this. I'm not sure I understood it all.

Is this why you can't sing good ol' regular "Happy Birthday" in Applebee's? They have to sing their own stupid ass, clapp you hands a million times, make you want to bang your head on the table song? :dance:

[Otter Spotter aka Debbie 58]

The copyright to "Happy Birthday" was purchased by the Warner Chappell company in 1990 & supposedly the copyright expires in something like 2030 or 35.  In any event, because the end of time is predicted for 12/21/12, I'm not going to sweat it out should I sing it in public prior to 2030!!  :D

Happy Birthday was rumored to have been purchased by Paul McCartney who later sold it to Michael Jackson.  I couldn't find any supporting documentation other than Snopes saying it was an unfounded rumor.

[Otter Spotter aka Debbie 58]

No argument,  just quoting page 5 item#3  http://www.rbs2.com/copyrm.pdf

Also forgot to mention he may have trouble winning this one.  Did more research since my first post this morning and the "Original" Hoop-Dee-Doo with Perry Como is a "FREE" ringtone download for the Android phone.  So it appears to be in the "public domain" already.

I kind of thought someone might come back with this! :D  There is a caveat to this "exception".  If your church collects an offering, it is now deemed a "performance".

The fact of the matter is that copyright infringement cases are a routine part of doing business in the music industry. They're filed all the time. And when you hear aspiring songwriters complain that they can't get any producers to listen to their songs, it's because songwriters, publishing companies, producers, artists and record labels do everything possible to avoid any appearance (or allegation) of copyright infringement. It's why Nashville's open-door policy went away many years ago and why most of music's most influential people work in unmarked offices. Many aspiring artists send thousands of self-recorded tapes and CD's to record producers in the hopes of being "discovered". Even if these CDs or tapes are never opened or played, just getting close to an unsolicited song can create potential legal problems.

When contestants appear on American Idol, they have to select songs from pre-approved lists of music.  They are not permitted to use "original" material once the program narrows down the playing field to 24 contestants and the program goes live.

[canadianfockerfiend Trevor 1]

I love ribs. 

Sorry...back to the discussion at hand.

back ribs texas bold sauce mmmmmmm back to your regular scheduled program.