Randy -- here is a key point from the fair use provision that you posted: > (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used > in relation to the copy-righted work as a whole This particular exemption led libraries to adopt fair use guidelines that limited the amount of copying from a single title that could be done for another institution on interlibrary loan. Had the museum profession had adopted similar guidelines 30 years ago when the copyright laws were significantly revised, individual museums could follow such guidelines and enjoy more protection and a better legal defense when charges of copyright infringement are made. Nothing like this happened though, instead each museum was more of less left to make its own choices. Many small museums scattered from from coast-to-coast basically relied on nobody noticing what they were doing. The above exemption I selected from your message was intended to allow people to photocopy of a few pages of an article or a book without violating copyright. In the case under discussion if the museum played a small portion of a musical work, they might be able to claim exemption under fair use, but if they are playing the entire piece of music, then they fail the above test. Playing music to enhance the experience of viewing an exhibit is neither scholarship nor research nor classroom teaching. I think it would be very difficult to argue (or convince a jury) that the educational benefit offered by the exhibit would be compromised by not playing the particular piece of copyrighted music. Ultimately, it does not matter what the purpose of the institution is. If "not-for-profits" ignore laws, they are responsible for the legal consequences. Judy Turner Whitefish Bay, WI --- Randy Little <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Download title17 here > http://www.copyright.gov/title17/ > > Read starting on the lower part of page 18 sec 107 > and sec 108. I > think you can basically tell BMI to go shove it. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).