MOH Copyright Infringement?!?!?! 2

[HopnDude]

If I just add music from our, the library where I work, CD's we own to the Call Manager server would I be violating any kind of copyright infringements? If so please do let me know before I do so! I'm only 22 y.o. and I have been trying to get this Unity/Call Manager stuff down to a T and almost have! Everyone complained to the old Network Admin and he since left still not knowing anything about the VoIP settings or how it works. I took the task just to mess with it and see how it works. I've since learned how to change extensions, create voice mail boxes for users, add and delete devices/users, and other cool stuff. I just recent kept hearing complains about the MOH being deathly grim sounding so I changed it temporarily and found out how to add new music. If someone would let me know if I'm going to get the library here in any kind of trouble by just putting any music I want on there?! I would GREATLY appreciate this!

Scott

 

[jneiberger]

You cannot use music from CDs as MoH legally. You do not have a license for that sort of thing. The best thing to do is buy a feed from Muzak or get some license-free music from somewhere. Or just use tone-on-hold.

 

[HopnDude]

What is tone-on-hold? And/or where can I get license-free music? Also what if I take a few songs, and splice some of the audio like little clips and put them together than put them into one big clip and use that?

 

[jneiberger]

Tone-on-hold is when users just get intermittent beeps to indicate that they're still connected. I think that's the default setting on CallManager, but I haven't used it in a while.

I don't know where you can buy license-free music but I'm sure a Google search should turn some up somewhere.

You can't take clips from a bunch of different songs for which you don't own the rights or have permission. No matter how you "slice" it, that would not be legal. If you want to use copyrighted music, buy a feed from Muzak.

 

[pndscm]

All the 'music' on the Cisco MOH CD is usable. Look for songs that are now in the Public Domain where the copyrights have expired. I'm not sure how many are out there. This is the reason restaurants have those cute Happy Birthday songs and don't use the real "Happy Birthday to You" song. They would have to pay a fee each time they would sing it to little Sara or Sam.

 

[jneiberger]

Well, technically, you can't use someone else's recording of a public domain song because you don't have the copyright for the recording itself. You could record your own version of a public domain song and play it with no problems, but you can't play someone else's recording of it without paying them for it.

It's a pain, I know.

 

[pndscm]

If I made my own recording with my voice there wouldn't be any problem at all. Everyone would hang up as soon as it started. I do see your point in my error in logic though.

 

[jneiberger]

The record companies are being real sticklers for this sort of thing. I heard that there was a recent ruling that if you even have music at your desk playing loudly enough for others to hear then you should be paying a public performance license. Now how ridiculous is that?

The record companies are dying fast and they keep shooting themselves in their feet.