Although this article is not exactly new (21st July 2010), I cannot stop thinking about how far a big media corporation can go on its pursuit for money... SHAME ON YOU BOURNE Co. MUSIC PUBLISHERS, SHAME ON YOU MARCO BERROCAL
U.S. publisher hits schoolgirl, 10, with £1,300 bill for using Chaplin song in her charity video
By CHRIS BROOKE - See original article here
It seemed the perfect way for a budding young actress to raise money for a good cause. Inspired by her grandfather's love of Charlie Chaplin, ten-year-old Bethany Hare dressed up like the legendary comic to star in her own video tribute.
The heartwarming homemade film, featuring the schoolgirl singing the song 'Smile', was posted on the JustGiving website to raise funds for a children's hospice.
Yet, astonishingly, the short internet video has become the subject of a copyright dispute.
The New York-based publishing company who own the rights to the song - which was originally composed by Chaplin as an instrumental for his 1936 movie Modern Times - insisted Bethany had to remove the harmless clip.
After her mother Yvonne wrote to explain the background to the Chaplin video, the publishers said they could keep the song online for one year as long as they paid a $2,000 (£1,300) fee and a further $250 (£165) every time she performs the song in public.
The demands were impossible to meet and Bethany has been forced to remove the words and music and running the video as a 'silent movie' instead.
The Hare family understood they had the support of the Chaplin estate, but the Bourne Music Co has refused to relent.
Despite the copyright problems Bethany, who goes to stage school and has worked as an extra in the TV soap Emmerdale, has so far managed to raise £1,800 for Martin House Children's Hospice.
Both Mrs Hare and her husband Simon, from Horsforth, Leeds, have been left bewildered by the refusal of Marco Berrocal from the publishing company to allow the schoolgirl charity song.
Mrs Hare said: 'We wrote back to Mr Berrocal explaining that this was just the project of a ten-year-old girl. We also explained that Bethany was raising money for children with life limiting illnesses and that Martin House survived totally on money raised by fundraisers.
A still from the video Bethany made. The publishers told her family they could keep the song online for one year as long as they paid a $2,000 (£1,300) fee and a further $250 (£165) every time she performs the song in public
'Copyright permission for this little charity fundraising project never even entered our minds and we are just amazed that such a large company in New York would go to such extremes to dampen the efforts of such a lovely little girl.'
Father Simon added: 'We have been fighting them for a year now and it's put such a strain on Bethany.'
Bethany funded the video herself with cash she earned as an Emmerdale extra. She initially learnt and performed the song for her grandfather's 71st birthday and then had the idea of using her skills to raise charity cash.
She carefully planned the short video and the family were given permission to film inside a local museum where Bethany had visited on a school trip.
The song was originally composed by Chaplin as an instrumental for his 1936 film Modern Times.
A message on her JustGiving website states:'Due to unforeseen problems regarding Bethany's use of the music and lyrics of the song 'Smile', we are afraid that we received an email from Bourne Music Co. in New York, asking us to remove the sound from Bethany's film until legal documentation is completed and copyright fees are paid!!
'Unfortunately we were blissfully unaware about the need for a licence of any kind. Bethany has no savings left and will therefore not be able to afford any fees - we hope you will now appreciate a silent movie instead.'
Lyrics were added to Smile in 1954 and it was originally sung by Nat King Cole.
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