It sounds as if you and the composer—like Felice and Boudleaux Bryant—intended to combine words and music into “inseparable or interdependent parts.” That makes you and the composer joint copyright owners of the song.

Now, because of one man, there is hope for me and others like me throughout the country yearning to work jobs they have previously found themselves barred from simply because they have no experience. Who is this Chuck Yeager; this Jackie Robinson; this Harvey Milk of the inexperienced?

I get very upset thinking about our president and how he mistreats people. This whole disgusting administration makes me angry. I’ve been told that I should have compassion for him, but how is it possible to have compassion for this fascist?

Being surrounded by different indigenous people lit a spark, filled me with pride, and confirmed to me that yes, it is our time as the youth of the Native nations of America to rise up and be the generation that takes back not only our identity but our voice.

I have signed and dated permissions forms that explicitly inform the participant that their recorded interview could end up in a published journal or book. Is there an expiration date on the permission they granted?

Guest Blogger Maggie Vail: “Musicians are leaders. Music has been at the forefront of every massive cultural movement from civil rights to feminism to anti war movements.”

Over time, our choices start to form a theme, an overarching message to the world about us and what we stand for. I think about it like a motto on a coat of arms, or the mission of an artistic ministry. What does our work stand for?

People breed puppies in their backyards and then sell them to pet shops for a couple of hundred dollars so that the pet shop can turn around and sell them for twice that much to fools like your boyfriend.

Our advice for aspiring musicians and artists: 1) Trust your instincts and find a project where you can put some of that trust in the people you play with. It’s like magic. 2) Hold yourself and your collaborators to the “Don’t be a Dick” Golden Rule. 3) Surround yourself with kind people who inspire you.

My husband’s photo was chosen by a huge non-profit for a postcard. He signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement for the use with payment of $250. They have never paid us and continue selling the postcard into the millions of copies. Can’t we sue?

My life turned upside-down, as I learned to cope with the sudden onset of these new physical ailments related to my work. Aside from the emotions of fearing I may never paint again, I became physically sick when I walked down the detergent isle at a grocery store, entered a mechanic shop or inadvertently set foot in a room where someone was painting their nails.

Mainly what I’d say to my friend is this: Imagine a world where there is a free beer tap on every corner. If you want to make a living selling beer, how can you succeed? One inescapable part of the answer, it seems to me, is that you end up giving away a LOT of beer.

Guest Blogger Jeff Andersen: “We work with students in local classrooms for an entire year teaching them how to write and perform their own plays. I see the students make the same connections I did. They realize that they can not only participate in the world around them but also, even better, help to shape it.”

Our modern civil rights movement needs as many people as possible to be themselves and for us to work together for change. But people “being themselves” also means that they are allowed to not talk about their private life for as long as they do not want to talk about it, maybe even forever.

These vessels, or Acallis with which we express ourselves, are in essence bridges for dialogue between different cultures under threat. They are works that call to those who would offer their support. They depart from the local, but resonate with the global.

The question you’re wrestling with—whether the purchase of a copyrighted item permits you to use the item as part of another product—has come up several times in court cases.