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| | | Copyright owners have specific exclusive rights: usually, the right to copy and distribute the work, the right to make works based off of the original work (eg. a remix), and the right to control who and what performs the work (the right of display does not apply to music). Ownership of a sound recording, and ownership of the underlying composition, are two different concepts and the owners can oftentimes be two different people or entities, like the record label and the songwriter. The right to perform a composition is self-explanatory, but the right to performance for a sound recording only involves the right to play or transmit a digital recording. Section 203 of the copyright act provides that songwriters can reclaim their copyrighted works (read: sound recording) after thirty-five years, but the rule does not apply uniformly, as work that was made "for hire," that is, under the direction of the employer, remains in the hands of the employer. | |
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< | According to Bridgeport Music V. Dimension Films, In terms of sampling, the original copyright holder has exclusive rights. in other words, “get a license, or do not sample.”. The industry word for getting permission from a copyright owner to sample is "clearing," and it almost always comes at a cost. However, the de minimis defense, that the use is excusable where an “average audience would not recognize the appropriation,” from VMG v. Ciccone, Applies here. For compositions, the test is similar: whether an ordinary audience or observer would notice the similarity. However, if an artist made similar music in parallel to the original work, without any exposure to the original work, it is not a violation | >
> | According to Bridgeport Music v. Dimension Films, In terms of sampling, the original copyright holder has exclusive rights. in other words, “get a license, or do not sample.” The industry word for getting permission from a copyright owner to sample is "clearing," and it almost always comes at a cost. However, the de minimis defense, that the use is excusable where an “average audience would not recognize the appropriation,” from VMG v. Ciccone, Applies here. For compositions, the test is similar: whether an ordinary audience or observer would notice the similarity. However, if an artist made similar music in parallel to the original work, without any exposure to the original work, it is not a violation | | | The De Facto Uneforceability of Copyright Law
The legal rights to distribution, use, and remixing of music do not reflect what is happening online. While unauthorized distribution of music has been, fully punished by law, especially when the music is unreleased by the artist, the files remain out there, and unretractable, by the internet. Leaks, and the derogatorily-termed "piracy" have only increased in the last few decades. Research and observation has indicated that modern internet technology has substantially weakened the amount of protection that copyright affords to musicians. | |
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< | This presents an issue for artists: should they acknowledge that their music is not a commodity they truly own? With the advent of the internet, it has never been easier to access or distribute music outside the bounds of copyright law, Even though the framework of copyright does not constrain unauthorized distribution, litigation and criminal law are still used to punish specific instances. As much as people can be deterred, it is those law-abiders who want to iterate on previous songs and contribute to cultural development. The current system seems to stifle artistry while not preventing extralegal uses at all. | >
> | This presents an issue for artists: should they acknowledge that their music is not a commodity they truly own? With the advent of the internet, it has never been easier to access or distribute music outside the bounds of copyright law, Even though the framework of copyright does not constrain unauthorized distribution, litigation and criminal law are still used to punish specific instances. As much as people can be deterred, it is the law-abiders who want to iterate on previous songs and contribute to cultural development. The current system seems to stifle artistry while not preventing extralegal uses at all. | | |
The Creative Commons |
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