Copyright Law: Using quotes from someone else (including Cajun keychain sayings) in your song, blog, book or website

Blog post submitted by Vanessa Kaster

http://iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com/

Did you know that it’s possible to buy a “Cajun in your pocket” keychain?  …that plays spoken Cajun phrases?  GOOD NEWS – you can buy the keychain and use the sayings without violating copyright!  Even though the toy manufacturers have copyrights that include the sayings on the keychain… there is no copyright violation for using the sayings in your own song, book, blog or website because, the phrases are not original. 

A federal court in Louisiana held that the phrases at issue (see below) were common Cajun phrases and therefore, when the rap artist Mystikal included the exact word arrangements in his hit “Shake Ya As*” he did not infringe the toy maker’s copyright.  (One of the necessary elements of a copyright infringement claim is that the parts of a copyrighted work that are copied without authorization must be original.)

• “We gon pass a good time, yeah, cher”
• “You gotta suck da head on dem der crawfish”

Another aspect of evaluating whether copyright protected works were copied without authorization is proof of access to the copyrighted work and similarity of the works.  Interestingly in this case, it was proven that Mystikal’s nephew had a “Cajun in your pocket” toy… which was how the artist had access to the copyrighted work prior to the creation of his song.  (By the way, it was estimated that the rap song had sold over six million units worldwide by the fall of 2000 and had also appeared in several movies and numerous CD compilations.)

When quotes from copyright protected works can be used in songs, books, blogs or websites without permission of the copyright owner… is a grey area and the facts and circumstances are fundamental to a case by case evaluation of copyright infringement.

Let the good times roll and stay clear of copyright infringement.   “Laissez les bons temps rouler”!!  (the “Cajun in your pocket” toy says this too.) 

BY: Vanessa Kaster, Esq., LL.M.

 See also: http://www.emanation.com/products/cajun-in-your-pocket and Emanation Inc. v. Zomba Recording, Inc., 72 Fed. Appx. 187 (5th Cir. La. 2003). Emanation Inc. v. Zomba Recording, Inc., 72 Fed. Appx. 187 (5th Cir. La. 2003).