COPYRIGHT

What is copyright? Copyright is the basic force that generates much of the income in the music industry. There is exploitation and sale of copyright in just about every music industry transaction that takes place. Every day you purchase, see and hear things that are copyright-protected. Exchanges of copyright and exploitation of copyright occur continuously.

What is copyright? Copyright is a fundamental right of ownership and protection common to all of the arts If you have ever contributed to writing a song, you are probably the owner of copyright. If you intend to manage a band or artist who writes their own songs, then a big part of your income — and the income of the artist — is generated via the ownership of copyright.

What is Copyright? Copyright is one of the various legal rights designed to protect the works of authors/creators from unauthorised copying and transmission. You do not have to register copyright in Australia. Works are automatically protected from the time they are first written down, painted, filmed etc.

What does Copyright protect? In Australia, copyright law is contained in the Copyright Act 1968. Material protected by copyright includes: • Literary works (books, journal articles, novels, poems, song lyrics and reports) • Artistic works (paintings, drawings, clipart, cartoons, sculpture, craft work, photographs, maps and plans) • Musical works • Dramatic works (plays) • Computer programs • Compilations (anthologies and databases) • Cinematograph films (feature films, television, programs and commercials) • Sound recordings (recordings of music or words)

The basic principles of copyright Copyright is a form of intellectual property (IP). Intellectual property is made up of copyright, design registration, patent protection and confidentiality. Intellectual property has the potential to be hugely valuable

Principles of copyright Copyright is property that can be owned, bought, sold and rented. Just like other property, the rights to the ownership of copyright are transferable.

Principles of copyright Four copyrights exist in a piece of recorded music. Within one recorded song there exists a number of copyrights and, potentially, a number of different owners of that copyright.

Principles of copyright 1. The copyright in the lyrics 2. The copyright in the music 3. The copyright in the actual sound recording itself (‘master rights’) 4. The copyright in the performance

Principles of copyright - lyrics The first owner of this copyright is the person(s) who wrote the lyrics. Note the term ‘first’ owner, which implies that there can be successive owners throughout the life of copyright. Remember that this copyright can be bought, sold or licensed The copyright in the lyrics is treated in the Copyright Act as a ‘literary work’ along with poems, novels or textbooks.

Principles of copyright - music The first owner is the person(s) who wrote the music — generally, the melody. The emphasis is on the melody, not the arrangement. Helping someone arrange their song does not give the arranger any rights in the song itself. The copyright owner has the exclusive right to adapt or rearrange the music.

Principles of copyright – sound recording (master) The first owner is generally the person who paid for the recording. The ‘maker’ was typically the record label that paid for a recording. The maker controls the rights to the actual sound recording, or finished product like the CD Ownership is now shared between the person who paid for it and the performer who appears on the recording.   More and more artists are paying for their own recording or insisting on owning all of their own master rights.

Principles of copyright - performance Performers’ copyright was introduced into the Copyright Act in 2005. From 1 January 2005, the copyright in sound recordings is jointly owned between the record company (or the person paying for the recording) and the recording artists who appear on the recording. This can only be altered if there is a recording agreement that specifies another arrangement.

Principles of copyright The use or exploitation of any of these copyrights attracts payments called royalties or licence fees. Royalties and licence fees are the ways in which the ownership of I/P converts to actual dollar value. The more the song and therefore its copyright is used, the more royalty and licence fees are generated.

Principles of copyright Collecting societies are important in the collection of money generated by the exploitation of IP. Organisations like APRA, AMCOS and the PPCA collect money generated by the exploitation of IP.

Principles of copyright Intellectual property can be assigned (sold) or licensed (rented) to music users. In it’s simplest terms, assignment of copyright means to sell the copyright and licensing copyright means to rent. For some uses of music it is advantageous to have an assignment of copyright, while for others a licence is more suitable. Depending on the kind of deal, copyright can be assigned or licensed many times over. Within the lifespan of one copyright-protected song, there can be many different owners

Principles of copyright Copyright is created as a result of skill and labour on the part of the owner Copyright exists in the expression of an idea, not in the idea itself. To protect your work it must be in a material form: Recording or sheet music.

Principles of copyright - myths Myth 1: You have to have the © symbol on a work to protect it. Myth 2: You have to register your works at a copyright or patent office. Myth 3: You should mail copies of your songs to yourself to protect the copyright. Myth 4: There are heaps of cases in the courts where more than one writer claims copyright ownership of one song. Myth 5: If someone has ripped off your copyright, it is almost impossible to prove. Myth 6: Registering your song with APRA is the best way to protect its copyright.

Principles of copyright The © symbol that you may find on most CDs is not required by the Copyright Act for copyright protection to be applied. It simply serves as a warning to others that the work is copyright-protected. The (p) symbol is required by the Rome Convention to tell people who the owner of the copyright in the sound recording is.

Principles of copyright – Copyright symbols The © symbol that you may find on most CDs is not required by the Copyright Act for copyright protection to be applied. It simply serves as a warning to others that the work is copyright-protected. The (p) symbol is required by the Rome Convention to tell people who the owner of the copyright in the sound recording is.

Principles of copyright As a guide, ARIA suggests that the owners of the copyright in the music and lyrics be identified with the symbol © © = THE OWNER OF THE MUSIC AND LYRICS This will usually be the songwriter(s) who wrote the music and lyrics or the current owner of the copyright

Principles of copyright The (p) symbol stands for phonograph and in intended to refer to the owner of the copyright in the sound recording. (p) = THE OWNER OF THE SOUND RECORDING ARIA suggests the (p) appears with the name of the owner of the sound recording followed by the year that the sound recording was first published.

Principles of copyright - lifespan When does copyright start? Copyright exists from the moment the work is recorded, written down or notated in any way. Music and lyrics: Copyright in music and lyrics ends 70 years after the year of the writer’s death. If there is more than one writer of a particular song, the copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the last remaining author

Principles of copyright Joint works are created when two writers compose together in such a way as to make it impossible to determine who wrote what part of the song The multiple composers would own the work equally The credits for such a work would read ‘Words and music by Smith and Jones’.

Principles of copyright Joint works or collective? Collective works exist when each of the co-writer’s contributions to the song are identifiable from the others’ contributions Copyright in each part can be owned separately

Principles of copyright Sound recordings after 1969 Copyright in the actual sound recordings (or the masters) lasts for 70 years from the end of the year in which it was first published Sound recordings before 1969 Copyright in sound recordings made before 1 May 1969 lasts 70 years from the end of the year in which the recording was made

Principles of copyright Once the duration of copyright protection has lapsed, the copyright ceases to exist and the work moves into the public domain. (PD) means that anyone can exploit the work without paying a royalty. Remember, however that you may still have to pay for the use of a sound recording.