Are public/conference speeches copyright protected?
<p>Are speeches by personalities like Warren Buffett copyright protected? I am not speaking about interviews to news channels but speeches usually made to the public and investors like those found in <a href="https://buffett.cnbc.com/warren-buffett-search-results/?query=Mutual%20funds" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://buffett.cnbc.com/warren-buffett-search-results/?query=Mutual%20funds</a>. Can I use them in my websites without legal issues?</p>

<h2>Often, but not always</h2>
<p>If the speech is &quot;fixed in a tangible medium&quot; it is protected by copyright. That includes a prepared written version, and an audio recording made as the speech is delivered. Note that fixation only counts if it is done &quot;by or under the authority of the author&quot;. Someone else recording or writing down the speech does not make it fixed unless the author has directed that this be done, or at least authorized it.</p>
<p>However, if the speech is neither written down, nor recorded, nor in any other way &quot;fixed&quot; then it is not protected until it <strong>is</strong> fixed. Someone who took notes or simply memorized the speech would be free to use it as long as it is not protected.</p>
<p>All the above is true in the US, and in all other countries that adhere to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Berne Copyright Convention</a> or the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIPS_Agreement#Requirements" rel="nofollow noreferrer">TRIPS Agreement</a>. Almost all countries adhere to one or both of those.</p>
<p>In many cases there is an exception to copyright for news reporting, but not always. In the US this is covered under <em><strong>fair use</strong></em> and is subject to the normal four-factor test for fair use. In the UK this is covered by <em><strong>fair dealing</strong></em>. In many countries there is a specific exception for news reporting, but such exceptions generally have limits, and the individual law's terms will matter.</p>
<h2>US Law on Fixation</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#101" rel="nofollow noreferrer">17 USC 101</a> provides that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A work is “fixed” in a tangible medium of expression when its embodiment in a copy or phonorecord, by or under the authority of the author, is sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of more than transitory duration. A work consisting of sounds, images, or both, that are being transmitted, is “fixed” for purposes of this title if a fixation of the work is being made simultaneously with its transmission.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Yes, they are copyright protected.</p>
<p>No, you can’t use them on your website (subject to the normal exceptions of fair use/fair dealing or with permission).</p>
<p>In the US copyright exists as soon as a literary or artistic work is fixed in tangible form - a recording of a speech qualifies.</p>

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