About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

4 Okla. J.L. & Tech. 1 (2009)

handle is hein.journals/okjolt4 and id is 1 raw text is: 




4 OKLA.  J.L. & Tech. 41 (2009)
www   oki otorg

Abstract:

Krist Caldwell is a J.D. Candidate at The University of Oklahoma College of Law as part of the
Class of 2008. Below, Mr. Caldwell examines the potential copyright infringement of internet
tablature. After brief overviews of music theory, guitar tablature, and copyright law, Mr.
Caldwell analyzes both internet tablature reproduced from existing tablature booklets and
internet tablature created by ear. Mr. Caldwell concludes not only that internet tablature most
likely infringes on copyrights but also that limiting the free sharing of internet tablature hinders
an age-old tradition of learning among musicians. The author sincerely thanks: his editor, Ami
Decker, for going above and beyond; Roger McGuinn, for all the years of musical inspiration;
and the author's family, for their unwavering support.



       THREE CHORDS AND THE TRUTH: ANALYZING
       COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT CLAIMS AGAINST
                   GUITAR TABLATURE WEBSITES


                                @ 2008 Krist Caldwell


                                  I. Introduction

      It's 3 a.m. Monday morning, his parents are away, and all fourteen year old Gene

McGuinn  wants to do is meet for a garage jam with his heavy metal band Satan's Toenail.

McGuinn's band is preparing for their first gig at a community talent show hosted by the local

Southern Baptist church. However, the band has a small problem: They do not know any songs.

      Having heard that Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water' is a song readably playable for

most beginning musicians; McGuinn runs inside his home and logs onto his favorite guitar

tablature website: Mega Shred Death Metal Guitar Tablature Online.2 But something is amiss.




I Deep Purple, Smoke on the Water, on MACHINE HEAD (Warner Bros. 1972).
2 Mega Shred Death Metal Guitar Tablature Online is a purely fictional website, to the fullest extent of the author's
knowledge.


1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most