They can try. If I buy a copy of Serum all I'll ever do with it is amuse myself. If Shpongle buys a copy of it, they'll possibly use it on multi-selling albums bought the whole world over. The price of Serum doesn't change. Shpongle pays the same price as everybody else, regardless of how much money their use of it raises. So there's no Tort beyond using it without paying the standard selling price of a license.

But then people do try the most foolish arguments in front of Judges. I know one chap who having spent the best part of fifteen minutes elaborating an argument, was then told by the judge that he couldn't hear him, then repeated the entire argument shouting at the top of his voice only to be told again by the judge that he couldn't Hear him.

 

sd3 okay. if modo drum even buying and use is illegal cuz sound so cheat. yes.

 

Your explanation is convincing, but is there a need to end it that way, really?

This does not bring anything more to the table... Aside of disrespect and aggressiveness..

 

It's almost the law is based upon precedent and argument. It's almost like a judge would have to decide if either of the things we are saying would be true

 

I'm not sure how anyone can actually think that pirating samples / VSTs, etc. is legal.. at least in the U.S... maybe "not illegal" in a lot of other countries. But that said, I would think it would be pretty hard to detect unless the sample is pretty obvious, belonging to some specific package (for example, a vocal sample). I don't really worry about this stuff until I make it big, which I don't think I'm in any risk of doing. I have bought quite a bit of the software I use.. also "demoed" quite a bit too!

That said, I'm no lawyer, so I'm not sure how much you can actually get sued for for pirating this kind of software and if it's even worth it for the copyright holder to take you to court.

 

Copyright holders normally take one individual to court for a life-fucking amount of money and they normally end up winning because of their superior funds for lawyers. https://www.techdirt.com/articles/2...illegally-playing-four-unlicensed-songs.shtml my pro-tip (keep in mind i am not a lawyer and my legal advice is only for the US) don't get got

 

It's important not to confuse the taking of samples from other people's songs without permission or payment with the taking and using of sample-based instruments without paying for license. The issue in the first case is dung about with issues of composition and copyrights, in the second, with the failure to pay.

In the case of instruments the judge will almost certainly award just the payment that should have been made plus any reasonable costs incurred in recovery. Whether or not your use of an unlicensed copy made you money is irrelevant. Had you bought the license, the right to use of the instrument would have been yours.

Setlled out of court for an undiclosed sum.

 

Well,i download vst like much people in Internet or audioz . Im sure everyone have some software cracked. The point is...if we used a drums vst...or any sytnh or sample...in future we must pay software only? Or we have very much problems?...

 

You will likely have zero problems. I would seriously pay for anything you make money off of

 

Legally using k'ed samples in a production compares to entering a street race in a stolen car. You win the race, the title is yours but the car remains another man's property. He reclaims it, you pay for any damage to the rig. In the case of software, you cannot "steal" it but you may be liable for damages sustained by the owner of the software, i.e. the non-purchase of license. Licensing is a matter of so-called "intellectual property", it is the exclusive right of the creator of the software (a sample for instance, or an OS, whatever) to distribute his product, through a (paid) licensing protocol. Likewise distribution as "freeware" is established by the definition of an appropriate EULA, which has to be agreed (or entered into, in legal terms) by the user, just as is the case with a paid license. Whether or not it is legal to re-distribute the product is basically at the discretion of the licensor, therefore a matter of contract - and usually prohibited. Of course the question can arise whether the use of a sample in the (intended) way, as a particular note or building block of an otherwise autonomous product (your song) equals re-distribution of that sample. Very roughly speaking the answer is in the perception of an average audience. One note on a piano may sound in solo and isolated from other instruments in a particular production, yet remain part of a "library" which is not as such fully reproduced, by the sounding of that one note. On the other hand, an extended sample may effectively equal playing (a significant part of) someone else's musical work, inside your own. In that case the realm of software licensing is left and that of copyright entered into. Both are branches of intellectual property law, or IP as it is often referred to.

Paying for the license of a sample, or library, after a song containing it hits the charts is nice but it is legally impossible to retroactively "repair" the unlicensed situation. One can, however, after the fact (try to) pay for damages, incurred by the creator of the software as the result of that unauthorised use of his product.

Hope this begins to satisfy your query.

 

If someone has made their sample available for sale on royalty free terms and you use it in your number one hit song without paying for it the highest you can be made paying is for the cost to obtain the sample/library?

 

To answer your question I think the fact it is given away as "royalty-free" means you're in the clear

 

Royalty-free, although not identical to "public domain" per se, remains itself regardless of the success of a product finished using (or containing) it. It is copyrighted, but distributed for (intended) use, without a financial barrier. Some licenses do, however, exclude the free use in a commercial surrounding. Always RTFEULA.

 

Well you did not pay for the sample, so you did not enter that contract, hence the question.

 

Sheiiiit man, i realize how i didn't help at all. I have no clue what would happen in that situation, I am not a lawyer i only play one on tv

 

Ah, there's a misconception there on the legality surrounding the use of licensed material. The mere use of the sample usually constitutes agreement to the terms of the contract and therefore the obligation to pay for the license in case of non-royalty-free material. In the case of royalty-free samples this is not different, execept the license contains no financial penalty. So in short, not paying for a royalty-free product does not equal not entering a contract, or a EULA, free of charge. I am a lawyer, if that helps. Or used to be, anyway.

 

Can I watch royalty-free?

 

Thank for answering, there might be a misunderstanding. The question is, since you did not pay for the royalty-free-license, can the owner with probability win a case where they sue for more than the price of the license of using the royalty-free sample?

Can the owner successfully bring to court something like: the sample is an important part of the number one hit song, and the user did not enter a license-free contract since no payment was made, therefore we sue for part of what the user has earned.

 

Hi @farao, well since it is debatable whether "royalty-free" can itself be made conditional, which would entail a lengthy game of thought and words, you may rest assured the answer is no if the EULA is read to permit free use. Generally an exception is possible (in the EULA) and often expressed prohibiting the unpaid use to a commercial end. That's it, basically.

 

Thats kind of what I thought, thank you for your answer.

I wonder what would happen though if the owner of the sample stops selling the sample royalty-free on the market before the song hits the charts. Is not the owner then likely to successfully prosecute to the maximum extent of the law, which would include sueing for part of profit, not hindered by that it in the past was sold as royalty free?