Copyrights at a Glance
A copyright is a legal property
comprised by a set of exclusive rights and privileges granted by law to the
creators of artistic works. One of the most important privileges, especially in
the case of music, is the right of the owner of the copyright to exploit the
musical rights for the sake of making money. Copyright law uses the term “works”
as a blanket description for artistic creation. A musical composition, such as
a song or instrumental, is called a “musical work”. For the sake of
simplicity, however, Andre Gray will refer to musical work as “song”. In
order for a song to be protected by copyright law, two basic prerequisites must
first be met. The song must be original and fixed in a tangible
medium of expression. Original means that you created the son yourself
rather than simply copying it. Fixed in a tangible medium of expression means
that the song was written down on paper or a demo recording of the song was
made, regardless of the quality. Unfortunately, live performances of a song in
clubs and concert halls do not denote copyright ownership. Ideas and song
titles, unfortunately, cannot be copyrighted. Public Domain Songs are songs
whose copyright has either expired or were never copyrighted in the first
place. These songs, as the name suggests, are owned by the general public. In
fact, more than a few new songs are derivative of public domain songs.
There are many provisions within
the Copyright Act that makes reference to “phonorecords”,
a physical object typically in the form of compact disc, record, cassette, or
tape. This means that whenever an individual purchases a
phonorecord that copyright owner has parted with the physical embodiment
of a sound recording, not the ownership of the copyright.
There are many people, even
superstars, who are under the misapprehension than an individual has to send
something off to Washington, D.C. in order to obtain a copyright. Not quite.
The moment a song was written down on paper or fixed in a medium tangible of
expression, that song has been copyrighted. But, a copyright registration is a
very valuable piece of paper from a legal standpoint should any legal
misunderstandings arise, which invariably is the case.
You have been given the
basics and a starting point, go from there!
™ Digital & Electronic Music Organization, Inc. 
