Green Bay, WI asked in Contracts and Intellectual Property for Wisconsin

Q: I purchased a lecture on a CD set and made a transcript. Is this legal? May I gift CD sets and transcripts I've made?

I use the CD set and transcript as part of my psychological therapy. I would like to purchase additional CD sets for my therapists and also give them a copy of the transcript that I made. Is this legal?

May I purchase CD sets and present them along with a copy of the transcript to friends of mine?

There is another set of CDs that I have already gifted to a friend; may I also present her with a transcript of that CD set?

(I have tried to get permission from the copyright holder, suggesting that they could themselves publish and sell such a transcript, but without any success.)

1 Lawyer Answer

A: Preparing the transcript might be considered fair use or a derivative work. So long as you purchase as many copies as you are giving to others and using within your practice, the likelihood of a possible copyright infringement claim falls significantly. But without further information about precisely what you are doing, it is not possible to answer your questions with any certainty. I suggest speaking to a copyright attorney and getting a legal opinion on (1) your preparation and use of the transcript, (2) your duplicating the transcript and providing it to others, and (3) any possible license issues by using the CDs in a commercial/business context. Good luck!

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