Music Copyright: The Basics

Copyright in music is theright a creator of a piece of music has, to

prevent others from using it withouthis/her permission

Copyright in music is also the permission a non-creator of music gets from the creator of a piece of music to use it.

How do I get the copyright to my music?

Copyright is automatic and begins at creation. All that is required for a song to enjoy

copyright protection is for it to be originaland exist in a fixed form

FIXED FORM means music may be written orrecorded (doesn’t have to be professionallydone) in music sheet, CDs, cassettes or anyother storage device

ORIGINAL means the expression of the work must

be unique to the owner; it doesn’t mean similar works

have not been created

There is NO copyright in ideas

Copyright RegistrationIn Nigeria, there is no official

registration system for copyright. It is the requirement

of countries which are signatory to the Berne

Convention (Nigeria is one of such) that copyright is

automatic. However, some countries like the United States

require registration at the Copyright Office.

What right does the copyright owner have?

There are two types of rights:

Moral rights &

Economic rights

Moral rights ensure that the creator of music is recognized when his work is used or

reproduced. It also ensures that a piece of music is not modified

in any way that may be derogatory to the reputation of the creator.

Economic rights are rights which the copyrightowner can exploit forcommercial benefits

Types of economic

rights

Reproduction rights- the copyright owner has the right toprevent others from making copies of his music

Distribution rights - the right of the copyright owner to control the

distribution of his music

Publishing rights - the right to makea song (without the sound recording) available to the public resides with the creator or someoneauthorized by him

Performing rights - the copyright owner has the right to determine who

performs in public the music he has created

Recording rights - this covers the right to make a sound recording or a video recording of a song

Rights of Translation - the right to translate or to authorize the

translation of a piece of music is solely that of the

creator of the work

Broadcast and communication to the public - theowner of copyright has the right to control thebroadcast of his music on radio, television andother cable stations. He also has the exclusive

right to control the communication of his musicto the public by means of a loudspeaker or similardevices as seen in shopping malls, banking halls,

clubs, buses, aircrafts, restaurants etc.

Rights of Adaptation - the owner of copyright has the exclusiveright to control the modification of his work into another work

Exploitation of the translation or adaptation-the copyright owner has the right to control the

exploitation in any form of the adaption or translation of his work

Length of a copyright

In musical works, copyright runs from the time of creation till 70 years after the end of the year in which the author dies.

In sound recordings, copyright lasts till 50 years after the end of the year in which the recording was first

made.

Ownership of a copy Vs. Owner of copyright

The purchase of a piece of music or a fullalbum does not confer on the buyer, copyright.The buyer is only entitled to enjoy the music hehas bought in a private setting, anything otherthan this; he may be liable of infringing on the

creator’s copyright

Transfer of Copyright

Copyright ownership can be transferred and this must be done by a written agreement.

The transfer (assignment) of copyright onlyaffects economic rights.

This transfer could be total or partial

In partial assignment, a music author maytransfer his reproduction, translation and

adaptation rights to a publisher. He may alsodecide to split his rights between different

persons

Transfer of copyright may also

be granted for aperiod of time and

for a certain territory

Transfer of copyright is serious business and should be entered into ONLY after proper

legal consultations.

Limitations on copyright There are exceptions to the rules in copyright.

Fair use: music is exploited without authorization of the owner and without the obligation to compensate the owner afterwards. This is

obtainable in the use of such works by way of illustration for news reporting or teaching purposes. This is purely for non-profit or

non-commercial purposes. Also note that playing a complete music track in a news report is not fair

use.

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