JOE TURCZAK spoke thusly to: DICK ROEBELT
JT>DR>    No law degree, but I do study law in my spare time. 
JT>WHY?? hahaha, isn't it wuite boring??
   Sometimes I think I may never get through some of the 
text/opinions.  The justices say one thing in one sentence and 
something altogether in another.  Trying to follow along can be a 
chore.  But I am not alone, even my atty's have a hard time 
deciphering some of the "junk."  But they have a leg up on me - they 
take CLE's where some kindly person explains the opinions in everyday 
English. 
JT> Although I guess staying on top of it really would help! Most 
JT>people break the law and do not know it! So that's a good thing 
JT>I reckon! 
   One never stay's on top.  A lot of what I read is for research and 
I generally take the current opinion and work my way back on the 
subject a hundred or so years.
JT>DR>    Then a case in 1975 was heard.  In Twentieth Century Music
JT>DR> Corp. v. Aiken the court held that the owner of a fast food
JT>DR> chicken store did  not infringe by playing a radio connected to
JT>DR> four speakers in his establishment.  The court said that the
JT>DR> reception was not a performance that belonged exclusively to
JT>DR> the copyright owner for a number of reasons (too deep to
JT>DR> enumerate). 
JT>DR>    Because of all the hair-splitting, the 1976 act inserted a
JT>DR> whole bunch of exemptions (one or two were to codify the Aiken
JT>DR> case).  And I believe that if a person rebroadcasts (via the
JT>DR> telephone) and there is no commercial gain (for the
JT>DR> performance), that the equipment used (receiving apparatus) is
JT>DR> a "private home-type device," that the broadcast that is being
JT>DR> played is from a signal in the local reception  area and there
JT>DR> is no "direct charge" for the listening - then folks who pipe
JT>DR> the music into their phone system have little to worry about. 
JT>Ok, but what about where I work we have a local radio station on
JT>our hold system. I'm sure it's not a private home type device,
   Is it a std type radio you can buy at Radio Shack, Circuit City, 
Walmart, etal?  If it is, then it meets the definition.
   Professional equipment commonly found at a radio station, DJ 
equipment, professional broadcast gear found in bistro's, nightclubs 
and the like would normally fall outside the "home-type" definition.
JT>but it isn't for our financial gain - I think we'd be putting 
JT>an ad or soemthing on there if it were to get the customer to 
JT>buy more stuff from us, or to tell about our sales or something! 
JT>So I would say it's just for thier entertainment while they are 
JT>on hold. Ths seems ok to me though! 
   You are probably in the clear.  But I ain't no lawyer , so read 
my post with a jaundiced eye, as it were.
   Dick
Join the army, meet interesting people, kill them.
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