Comparison of the Copyright Laws on Musicians among the UK, USA and EU - Dissertation Example

This paper looks into details on the various copyright laws on sound recording onthe musicians in the US, the UK and in the EU. It outlines the various copyright protection duration in each of this. In the US, the copyright duration is 70 years from the date the last surviving author dies. For the European Union, the duration for copyright protection was recently extended from 50 years to 70 years. The copyright protection for the UK remains 50 years1. It also gives rights granted to the musician on his piece of work. He has a right to restrict any derogatory action on his music. He also grants the rights of reproduction, lending and distribution of his music among others. The various remedies granted to the musician in case of a person infringing the copyright are also discussed. It also looks on the need for copyright education and the need for future and managerial decisions for musicians. A comparison on the copyright protection laws shows that the application of these laws in terms of the moral rights, copyright infringement and remedies for infringement is similar in the US, UK and in the EU. The difference, however, lies in the duration of the copyright protection as outlined above. This study also outlines the impacts of these laws on the musicians. The impacts can be generally categorized as social impacts, cultural impacts, economic impacts, moral impacts, administrative impacts among others. A recommendation on the application of copyright laws is also given. Among the recommendations given include copyright registration by musicians, copyright monitoring and evaluation policies, need for copyright education and provision of music at reasonable prices. Contents Introduction 4 Objectives 6 Purpose of the Study 7 Copyright Laws for Sound Recording on Musicians in the UK 7 Copyright Laws for Sound Recording on Musicians in the USA 9 Copyright Laws for Sound Recording in the EU 11 Comparison of the Copyright Laws on Musician among UK, USA and EU 13 Impacts of these Laws on the Musicians in the UK, USA and the EU 16 Need for Musicians to rethink the Future and Managerial Decisions 18 The Need for Copyright Education 19 Recommendations 20 Conclusion 21 References 22 The Impact of the differences between the United Kingdom, United States of America and the European Union Copyright Laws for Sound Recording on Musicians. Introduction A copyright refers to property right or a legal concept granted by most governments to the creator of an original work giving him exclusive rights over the property for a limited time. In the UK copyright, protection in sounds recording and broadcasts exists for 50 years2. This is in relation the end of the year when it was produced. The copyright must be in the protection of an expressed idea. Copyright over property arises automatically and hence it is not necessary to register. The copyright grants the original composers certain economic and moral rights over their work. A copyright protects the following works: original musical works, sound recordings, films original artistic works, original dramatic works, broadcasts among others. 3Sound recordings or phonorecords refers to the mechanical inscription and recreation of sound waves such as singing, instrumental music, spoken voice or sound waves. Sound recording include both analog and digital recording. There are four different kinds of copyrights to be considered in the case of sound recording. They include; copyright of the composer, copyright of the producer of the record, copyright of the performer and copyright of the tester if any4 . According to the copyright acts of 1976, Copyright on the music in the USA initially belongs to the composer5. It is mandatory to have the first page with a copyright notice of the music or on the title page which should consist of the symbol © or the year it was first published and the publisher’s name. Before posting the composition on the internet or doing the first public performance the copyright should be registered at the US copyright office as it put the owner in a firm and strong legal position if his work is plagiarized. Recently, ministers in the European Union, which comprises of 27 nations, extended copyright protection for record producers and performers to 70 years from the previous 50 years6. This new law was made so as to protect the performers in their entire lifetimes as most of them start their careers at a younger age and the previous 50 years law may not protect works for their entire lifetime and they would face an income gap later in life. They also stated that performers who trade their rights for royalties (to producers) should be given a chance to check on their royalties7 . This measure should be during a period of 20 years such that advance payments and deductions are not interfered with. The law provides for a procedure to generate (through comprehensive calculations) protection terms in relation to respective songs8 . The effect of this law is up to 70 years even after the last surviving person dies. Sound recording copyright laws covers tapes, compact discs, digital audio tapes, MP3s and vinyl records which carries recordings. Objectives This dissertation has various objectives which I hope to achieve. They are as follows: To know the copyright laws for sound recordings in the UK, USA and EU. To compare the copyright laws among UK, USA and EU. To find out the duration for copyright laws in the EU, UK and the USA. To find out the impact of the differences on the copyright laws for sound recording on musicians between the UK, US and EU Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to find out the copyright laws regarding sound recording musicians in the European Union, United Kingdom and in the United States of America. Through this study I am able to find out on their applicability in each area of study and the impact of these laws on the musicians in the various countries. I also get know the various instances where a person infringes a copyright and the specific remedies granted to the musician. The dissertation also helps me know the benefits of applying these laws to the musician and also to the country applying it. Through this study I am able to know the areas that are lacking in the copyright industry and make several applicable recommendations that will help improve this industry and eradicate the copyright infringement vice. Copyright Laws for Sound Recording on Musicians in the UK The UK copyright law for sound recording provides protection to the UK musicians against unauthorized copying of their sound recordings for a period of 50 years from the date of making their masterwork. The law also states that the recording companies have right to control the public performances of their recording9 . In the year 1989 there came new copyright legislations, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 198810 . This Act harmonizes the copyright law in the UK with that of the EU partners. This Act stipulates that the duration of sound recording copyright is 50 years from the end of the year in which the recording was done or the end of the year of publication. These Acts gives the musicians the right to control and benefit from the exploitation of his performance. The rights of a performer are infringed by a person who has no consent and other than for personal use make a recording of a performance and broadcasts the performance. 11The Act grants the musicians or the performers various rights which are the reproduction right, distribution right, and the lending right. The reproduction right is the right to authorize or prohibit making of a copy of a performance. The distribution right includes the right to authorize or prohibit issue copies of such recordings to public whereas the lending right involves lending or renting such copies to members of the public. In order to be protected the individual must qualify. This means that he must be a citizen or resident of the United Kingdom. Qualifying performers are entitled to share in monies distributed by Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) gotten from the public performance and recording of their recordings. The qualifying performers are also granted moral rights in respect to their performance. The right to disagree with disparaging treatment of a performance or the right to be identified as the performer whenever the performance takes place or is released as a recording, is also inclusive12. Currently, it is only those sound recordings that were first published in the UK before 31st December 1960 that can be found in the UK public domain. This means that their copyright term has expired and the performers’ rights no longer exist13 . Copyright does not exist on radio in any radio broadcast made in the UK in the period before 1st July 1957.These sound recordings made before 1st July 1957 are assumed to be in the public domain. Copyright Laws for Sound Recording on Musicians in the USA The copyright law of the USA defines sound recording as works that are due to fixation of a series of spoken or other sounds, musical, but excluding the sounds that accompany a motion picture or other audio-visual work14 . Sound recording are material objects that are used to mechanically play music or to produce a performance of music. Sound recording copyrights protects the contribution of the performer whose performance is captured and the contribution of the person processing the sounds to make the final recording. According to the sound recording laws, when a producer has been issued with a license to make sound recordings by a copyright owner, any other person should obtain a compulsory license to make sound recordings of the same musical composition15 . This compulsory license prevents monopoly of sound recordings by the authorized company as it is automatically available to anyone after the first authorized sound recording. It is cumbersome to use the compulsory license and therefore the recording companies and the owners of sheet music negotiate on a voluntary licensing contract. Sound recording copyright laws only for protects sound recording done after 15th February 1972. The works done before 1972 are protected by state law and unauthorized copying is regarded as a tort of an unfair competition16 . The state law protects them up to the year 2067.For anonymous or for works made for hire they are protected for a duration that is lesser of 95 years from the initial publication or better still, 120 years starting from the day of production. All other works are protected by copyright laws for a maximum period of 70 years from the date when the last surviving author dies. A case decided by the US court of appeal in 2003, ruled that the copyright owner in relation to the respective sound recording is not paid any royalty while the owner of the sheet music copyright is paid a royalty when a sound recording of that music is broadcast on radio17 . Therefore, the copyright owner of sound recording has no exclusive right of public performance except in digital audio transmission. Stores can only play copyrighted sound recordings if the primary purpose is to increase sale of the recordings. 18It is legal to produce a copy of a patented recording if it is for personal use and noncommercial use. This means that copying of copyrighted recording for personal use does not constitute infringement of a copyright and is therefore permissible. Transferring of ownership of any copy to another person is not permissible and is therefore an infringement of copyright. The copyright act provides civil remedies and criminal penalties for unauthorized recording of someone else’s live performance. However, if one records his own performance of copyrighted music, he needs a written permission from the copyright owners to be able to distribute the recordings19 . Copyright Laws for Sound Recording in the EU European musicians mostly starts their singing career at the age of 20s and the current act of 50 years meant that by the time they reach 70s the act will have expired and hence the need to extend it since others may live well up to 90 years20. A typical outcome is that performers are affected by the common income gap by the time their careers come to an end such that they lose royalty payments from record companies in addition to remuneration due for the broadcasting of their sound recordings. This led to the EU extending the act to 70 years instead of the previous 50 years. Peer to peer piracy is the most prevalent challenge that faces most musicians and recording companies21. It is for this reason that there is need for respective business to acclimatize to the challenges of distribution. A longer term of copyright protection would therefore help to generate surplus returns to assist finance upcoming talents and enable record labels to easily spread the risk brought about through developing upcoming talents. Studies reveal that the European Union gives its musicians or performers rights that are of an exclusive degree22. They therefore are entitled to unbiased remuneration in relation to commercial use of sound recordings and respective performances. The musicians exclusive rights include right of rental, distribution, reproduction, and also availing their products on the internet. Other rights protected are the right of fixation for performers, right of communication, right of broadcasting and communication to the public by satellite for the performers23. The European Union is made up of 27 members who have their own national copyright laws. This complicates the EU copyright laws. The European commission has therefore come up with regional copyright laws which are used to harmonize the different nations’ laws. The Berne Convention was a law which was signed in the year 1886 so as to protect literary and artistic work. It has been amended several times so as to bring the European Union copyright laws in to an alignment that will enhance faster economic growth and cultural development. The European Union law protects sound recordings from infringement. The Berne Convention grants the right to reproduce, market, remix and distribute sound recording for a period of 50 years although they have recently been altered to 70 years. One must obtain written permission from the copyright owner to reproduce parts of the sound recording for sampling purposes or distribution within peer to peer networks as it is illegal24. Comparison of the Copyright Laws on Musician among UK, USA and EU The copyright laws for musicians in the UK, EU and the USA aim at protecting the performers against unauthorized copying of their work25. They also provide for the duration within which a performer is deemed to be protected under copyright laws. These laws also provide the civil remedies and damages in case the right of the performer or musician is breached. In the United States of America and in the European Union, the duration for protecting the musician is 70 years from the date which the last survivor dies26. However, in the United Kingdom the protection duration is 50 years from the end of the year in which the recording was done. After the protection period, the recorded work falls on the public domain. The public domain refers to a pool of copyright-free works such that they can be used by anyone in anyway. According to the U.S. Copyright office, it consists of work whose copyright has expired, that were released to the public domain by the copyright holder or that were not eligible to the copyright in the first place27. Most of the members of the European Union impose a copying levy on blank CDs, cassette tapes and CD burners28. This is done so as to reduce the cost of using such devices in infringing copyright of the musician. Out of the 27 members of the EU 22 members impose copying levies. However, the UK does not impose the copying levy but has a law that states that it is illegal to move music from a CD to an MP3 player. These laws states that one must obtain permission from the copyright owner before duplicating his work. The owner of the copyright is the original person who creates the music and in the case of sound recording it is the musician. One is expected to ask for permission in case he or she intends to use works by other authors. This should be done before selling any piece of music. It is also required that if you obtain the samples from sample collection, one must ensure that they are licensed such that they are free obtain and use permission first. However, this does not apply to music copied by a person for personal and non commercial use. Copying for personal use is permissible and therefore does not result to an infringement of a copyright29. In the application of the sound recording copyright laws in the US, UK and in the EU the musician is granted exclusive rights over his work30. The musicians have the right to control and benefit from infringement of their rights. They have various rights which include, lending right, reproduction right and distribution right. According to the copyright laws when an individual fails to observe a right, the action is termed as an infringement of a copyright. A person may either be strictly, civilly or criminally liable for copyright infringement. An individual may strictly infringe a copyright in circumstances where he carries out a restricted act without the authorization of the owner. Civil liability comes up when a person deal with an infringed copy or facilitate the infringement itself. Criminal liabilities involve criminal acts conducted without the copyrights owner permission and may include making an infringing article for sale, distributing an infringing article to an extent of prejudicing the owner, altering electronic rights management information, among others. There are various remedies granted to the musician incase his copyright is infringed. They include the right to seize infringing copies, awarding of damages and also injunction. Criminal offences may result to the person infringing the copyright undergoing heavy fines and penalties or an imprisonment31. Impacts of these Laws on the Musicians in the UK, USA and the EU The copyright laws in the EU, US and in the UK have had significant impacts in the various countries involved. They affect the social cultural, economic and also the political environment in a country. This may be either favorably or unfavorably32. The copyright laws application on sound recording governs on how people act towards original works of others. The observation of these laws demonstrates how citizens act towards other national laws in any given country. They therefore ensure that one observes the copyright law and failure to which is referred to an infringement of a right. Infringement of a right may lead to one liable either civilly or criminally. The liability incurred as a result of copyright infringement therefore will ensure that copyright laws are observed and that there are minimal chances of infringement33. Copyright laws affect the economic environment of the region in which it is applied. The copyright industries are very necessary and important to the USA, the UK and the EU because they involve cultural, media and knowledge industries. The development and advancement of these industries is an indication of post-industrial society performance. This is mostly applicable in areas related to the information society. Information society services relate to those services that are provided in digital libraries and similar places. The extension of the copyright laws duration from 50 years to 70 years in European Union member states will have a positive impact on the musicians34. Performers earn revenue from both royalty incomes gotten from the sale of sound recording and from secondary remuneration claims linked to performance communication and broadcasting (to the public). They will gain financial benefits from this extension. It will lead to increased revenues on performers whose performances experience popularity late after initial record release and also lead to more fairness in the remuneration of performers. The extension would also result to an increment in the revenue of the record producers because they will be assigned performers exclusive rights of reproduction, distribution and making online distribution. The copyright laws extension would also affect the public domain. The public domain companies would have to wait longer for music to fall out of copyright so that it can be published in the public domain. These companies will therefore lose revenue equivalent to revenue earned by the record producers in the period of extension35. These negative effects are limited as public domain companies do not develop or discover new talent. Entering of the sound recordings in the public domain will have various benefits such as the benefit of future innovation, future prosperity and public good where members of the public can access public domain at will. The copyright laws also affect the administrative system. The countries exercising these copyright laws need to amend their national laws accordingly so as to cover their musicians36. An extension of copyright protection may lead to increased legislative burden in a country. The impact of observing moral rights of the performers would be positive. Performers are granted the right to restrict objectionable uses of their performance37. They should be awarded damages incase their rights are infringed. This will improve their social standing and create recognition for their work. In the states that recognize moral rights of the performers for only duration of the economic rights, performers may be protected during their entire lifetime. However, in countries which do not recognize moral right of the performers to restrict objectionable uses of their performance, musicians would remain powerless to prevent such uses. Observing moral rights of musicians would bring negative effect on producers and broadcasting corporation as they are restricted from using the work without permission. The copyright laws protection may have an impact on the cultural diversity of the country38. The term extension will lead to more resources from old recording that are available to fund new talent. More income from the golden hits of 1960s will be used in financing investments in new recordings. According to Nigel Parker, “accumulation of copyrights spreads risk and generates new funds to cover for new music. Without long term profits from the most successful creators, investment in new music will be non-existent”. Need for Musicians to rethink the Future and Managerial Decisions Currently most musicians start their career in music at a very tender age39. There is a dire need for musicians to rethink about the future and managerial decisions as this will help them achieve success in their career. The managerial decisions will help them come up with action plans that are viable when applied. Musicians need to have managers who will help them manage their sales and also manage their funds so that they cannot squander them in non-profitable ways. The musician should have future plans so that after the expiry of the protection period he will have enough income to sustain himself. The Need for Copyright Education Copyright education involves educating both the musicians and users of the sound recordings on the laws governing copyright protection40. This will help the musicians to know their rights in case of instances like plagiarism and know how to go about it. This will also help in protecting the users from infringing the copyrights laws as they understand the penalties and punishment for such acts. Recommendations The following are my recommendations concerning copyright protection for musicians and the development of their music in general. Based on my opinion it costs nothing for a musician to register for copyright protection but it grants the musician a lot of benefits and advantages. I would therefore recommend that all musicians register for copyright protection. I recommend the government of various countries to set up policies that monitor and evaluate the application of the copyright protection policy. It should be ensured that the citizens observe these laws and on infringement the musician should be granted a remedy. This will help in enhancing the welfare of the musicians. The countries should also align the moral and economic rights of the performers with their national laws. The music should also be available to users at reasonable prices. This will reduce the chances of duplicating the performers work mostly through peer to peer distribution. One can easily obtain information about the prices of records from record distributors, companies, and consumer groups. This system should, however, be standardized. This will lead to a reduction in piracy of sound recordings. The record companies should also produce enough music. They should do an intensive study on the market trends and the music demand and produce music equal to that demand. This will reduce to a greater extent the infringement of copyright protection. There is also the need for copyright education for the musician, record producer and the music user. This will each of them help observe the copyright laws. Conclusion The above discussion entails the various copyright laws on sound recording for musicians in the EU, the US and in the UK. It outlines the various copyright laws observed in each of the three superpowers member states. It also clearly states the various actions to be taken by the musician incase his rights are infringed and the remedies involved. As seen it is evident that copyright registration by musicians brings with it some benefits and advantages to the musicians. It also affects the countries which have this legislation either positively or negatively. It is justifiable to say that the benefits and the positive impacts of copyright protection outweigh the negative impacts of copyright protection. There are certain advantages derived from copyright registration. They include the musician’s ability to restrict derogatory performance of his artistic work and establishment of a public record of the copyright claim. Copyright registration must be made before the infringement of a copyright except for foreign works. 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