"I Have A Dream" speech copyright battle

[jillfoster]

Sad, really..... opinions?

http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/copyright-king-why-the-i-have-a-dream-speech-still-isn-t-free

[144man]

"I Have A Dream", which was released in 1968 on Gordy 7023, was not included in "The Complete Motown Singles" series for copyright reasons.

[juicefree20]

I would've believed that by now this speech would be public domain. Considering Dr. King, the man, I find it somewhat dismaying that there would be any issues of copyright surrounding this.

It's absolutely mindboggling to think that even a documentary would be charged for the use of one of the most seminal speeches in American History. I mean if people were trying to sell the speech outright, I can see the argument. But not being able to use it freely for educational purposes...

I don't believe that that was what the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King had in mind when he sued to stop unauthorized RECORDS from being sold for profit. To see folks having this removed from youtube for "infringement" is something that I believe would have Rev. King spinning in his grave.

Kinda bring to mind the question that Young-Holt Unlimited once asked...

"Ain't There Something Money Can't Buy?"

[jillfoster]

I agree, Juice... and a local radio station had wanted to air the speech in it's entirety on MLK day, and they didn't because of the copyright issue... they said that the demand for re-broadcast was 1,700$. And that's just the audio.