HTML Site::Resources:: Copyright InfoCenter

Copyright and online music

More of our time is spent handling online copyright than anything else. It is one of the most complex areas of international law on the planet, and even the major record labels and movie studios often get caught out by strange little clauses and loopholes. Although copyright law is supposed to 'protect the owner', in PRACTICE it makes it almost impossible. This section is here to help you do things right, if you're a composer, musician, film maker or just want to post a tune on your personal website.

The growth of the Internet as a means to share music has led to a rapid, and as-yet-incomplete, change in the laws of copyright and ownership. The Internet is a global entity and so national copyright laws and procedures can often be circumvented simply by moving the material to servers in a different country. This makes legal pursuit and effective protection of material something of a legal minefield, and many new artists are unsure as to their rights and how to protect them. The introduction of the DMCA in the US has helped iron out issues for US consumers, but the international scene still appears fuzzy. A lot of the stuff in this section will say things like "and for those in the US....", as they have to do a lot more than people in other countries. Sorry, but being American isn't all about freedom!

OK, pick a subject and off we go!

• The different types of copyright license :: quick reference to the licenses we'll be discussing, who sells them and what they let you do.
• Server formats :: the different ways to deliver music and video from a website, and how they affect your licenses.
• What can be copyrighted? :: The 101 on what that little © symbol means and where you can stick it!
• Derivative works :: Borrowing, sampling and printing t-shirts - can I use stuff that other people have copyrighted?
• Copyright Conventions :: The two big international agreements and what you need to do to protect your work with an envelope and a few stamps.
• Who can record my song and how can I stop them? :: The way 'first-recording rights' operate, and how to make sure you get paid for your tune or lyrics! Vital answers and some scary facts about that girl in the crowd holding her cellphone in the air!
• How do I put my OWN song or lyrics on my website and keep them protected? :: All about registration, seeds and the international law.
• What's the DMCA and how does it affect me? :: For us in the US, the DMCA changes things for copyright owners AND people publishing things on websites.
• I want to put music or lyrics from my favorite band on my website. What do I have to do? :: Licenses, PRL, PPL, the RIAA and who Harry Fox really is. This section tells you, plain and simple, what you need to do and who you need to pay before posting those MP3 files!
• Someone's stolen my music and posted it on a website! What can I do? :: Prosecutions, registrations and who to shout at.
• How can I limit copies of my song being shared online? :: So your 'fans' use Kazaa do they? Read about sheep, shotguns and Rocky the Flying Squirrel.
• Publishing music videos on the Internet: What extra rules apply when you can see people singing!
• Trademarking! :: How to protect your names and logos online and offline.

External links to copyright law

• US Copyright Service: the people who make the laws and read the forms.
• US Copyright Law: a complete text of the current legislation on copyright law in the USA (known in the industry as 'Title 17'), free to download.
• Thomas database: The US Congress legislation site - free access to all current law in the US - search for a specific bill or by subject such as 'music' or 'copyright'.
• The FULL text of the DMCA S.2037: all 60 pages, this should be on the bookshelf of everyone working with online copyrightable objects.