#OBAMA COPIED SPEECH REGISTRATION#
#OBAMA COPIED SPEECH PLUS#

Unlike the copying of song lyrics or the republishing of a poem or book, the copying of a speech may not give rise to quantifiable damages. For Michelle Obama to successfully bring such a claim, she’d need to prove that she suffered financial damages from any copying. Melania’s best defense against any claim of copyright infringement isn’t about the copying – it’s about the money.

While Michelle Obama’s 2008 convention address was clearly not as renowned as King’s speech, it is just as entitled to copyright protection. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech – which is why it’s unusual to hear more than a few lines of the speech replayed. Martin Luther King, Jr., is known for being particularly litigious in protecting its rights in Dr. There is plenty of precedent for the copyright protection of a speech – even a very famous speech. The immediate and overwhelming public reaction to the sameness of the two speeches is independently significant in the context of a copyright claim, because copyright analysis often hinges on whether the general public would perceive two works as being the same. Manafort’s feigned shock at the Twitterstorm over plagiarism and his argument that Melania’s speech had simply used “words that are common words,” is plainly not believable. Whether or not we believe Paul Manafort’s statement that “to think that she’d be cribbing Michelle Obama’s words is crazy,” or the Trump campaign’s statement that the speech “reflected own thinking,” the similarities are indisputably striking. A conclusion of a work’s having been derived from a copyrighted source often boils down to the general feel of whether that work is too close to the original. Copyright courts apply various tests, which are ever-evolving and never simple. Obama suffered damages as a result of any copying.Īssessing whether a work is “copied” can be a complex and confusing endeavor. Obama’s speech to constitute “copying” under federal law and 2) whether Mrs. The remaining issues would be: 1) whether Melania Trump plagiarized enough of Mrs.

Under the law, there’s little question that Michelle Obama is the copyright holder of the text of her 2008 convention speech. Obama wasn’t even the First Lady, so there’s no question that she was the sole copyright owner of the text of any speech she delivered (even if a speechwriter had penned the speech, it would have been a “work-for-hire,” making the copyright Michelle’s). #RNCinCLE Īs First Lady, Michelle Obama is not an official federal employee, and therefore, she is entitled to the same copyright protection that any other American citizen has. ICYMI: Watch Melania Trump straight copy her speech from Michelle Obama. The same goes for any government-produced materials that appear on the White House webpage, on which the text of many speeches is often posted. When it comes to speeches written or given by employees of the federal government, things are different under federal law, those speeches are part of the public domain, right from the start. After that, the text of the speech becomes part of the public domain, and anyone can copy it without legal consequences.

#OBAMA COPIED SPEECH PLUS#

Under current law, a person making a speech today would own the copyright for his or her lifetime, plus another 70 years. When someone copies all or some of a copyrighted work without permission, that person may have “infringed” on the original artist’s copyright.Ĭompare Melania Trump’s speech at the #GOPConvention with Michelle Obama’s 2008 speech: /cEVCOhbazmĬopyrights don’t last forever, though.

#OBAMA COPIED SPEECH REGISTRATION#

Copyright Office while doing so makes enforcing that copyright easier for the artist, registration isn’t strictly necessary. They can then choose to register that copyright with the U.S.

O would ever actually pursue such a claim, lets explore how she could if she were so inclined.Īrtists, authors, speakers, and songwriters always own an automatic copyright in the works they create.

Obama copied speech