Talking points on Copyright basics presented at the Plea for Peace Center's Band Business Crash Course, Nov. 3, 2012. Presented by the Pacific Music Management Club, faculty and alumni.
2. COPYRIGHT: WHAT IS IT?
Copyright is a limited duration monopoly that the government
provides to people that create original works.
Bundle of Rights
Reproduce the work
Prepare derivative works
Distribute copies by sale, rental, lease, or other transfer of
ownership
Perform the work publicly
Display the work publicly
Perform the work publicly via digital audio transmission (audio
recordings)
Copyright only extends to the intellectual property – not the
physical work itself.
The sale of the only copy of a painting of the Golden Gate Bridge
does not transfer ownership in the copyright
Why is copyright important?
Without copyright, anyone could exploit (and profit from) your
own work
3. CREATING COPYRIGHT
What can be copyrighted?
Original works of authorship
Fixed in a tangible form of expression
Things that cannot be copyrighted
Ideas (as opposed to an expression of an idea)
Words, short phrases, slogans, band names…
Genres of music
Copyright exists the moment the work is created in a fixed form
Copyright immediately becomes the property of the author who
created the work
If more than one person created the work, the “default” is that both parties
hold an equal share in the ownership of the work.
Songs have 2 types of copyrights involved
Song Copyright
Sound Recording Copyright
Albums are considered “collective works” – several individual
works (which can all be copyrighted) arranged or assembled in a
special way. Collective works are copyrightable.
5. BENEFITS OF REGISTRATION
Establishes a public record of the copyright claim
Required before initiating an infringement lawsuit
“Prima facie” evidence of the validity of the
copyright if made before or within 5 years of
publication
Establishes the right to recover statutory damages
and attorney’s fees if registration is made within 3
months of publication
6. EXERCISE
What elements must be present for a work to be eligible for copyright
protection?
A. Original work of authorship
B. Fixed in a tangible medium
C. Approval from a copyright judge
D. All of the above
E. Both A and B are correct
Which of the following are exclusive rights in copyrighted musical
works:
The right to reproduce the copyrighted work
The right to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work
The right to defame another individual or group with the copyrighted work
The right to distribute copies of the copyrighted work
The right to perform the copyrighted work publicly
What are the various copyrights involved with the release of your
musical act’s debut album onto CD, for which you designed all of the
artwork and produced the accompanying music video?