[Trip Creech]

I came across this thread from 2009 while trying to research a question I have in dealing with a similar situation. I could tell that you (Mark) hold a firm view on the legality of using copyrighted music in/on DVD’s; that is exactly what I need.

I have a personal business converting old home video media (VHS, Betamax, 8mm) to digital format and then organizing them on multi-disc DVD or Blu-ray sets for my clients. One client requested that I use several songs in his project as background music for DVD menus. He purchased all of the mp3 files on his own, brought me the CD, and asked me to add them. Since the home movie DVD’s are for his personal use, he purchased the songs, and I am not charging him for adding them – is this legal?

Also, the menus loop every 30 seconds so none of the songs would be used in their entirety. Don’t know if this makes a difference or not.

I expect that this won’t be the last time I get this request so I want to make sure to set my policy now. The last thing I want is to expose myself to risk.

Thank you for your help – Trip Creech