header-logo header-logo

Copyright conundrums: Lost in the music

11 November 2022 / David Langwallner
Issue: 8002 / Categories: Features , Intellectual property , Media
printer mail-detail
100228
What exactly is ‘music’ for copyright purposes? David Langwallner looks beyond the lyrics & settles the score

Musical copyright is an enigma, and as a term is something of an omnibus. Lyrics are protected via literary copyright, the musical score is protected by musical copyright, and any accompanying actions or performance can be governed by dramatic copyright. And then there is sound copyright. 

Of course, the copyrights can be bundled in ownership terms. Thus, in principle, a musical composition refers mostly to work of music as musical scores, often with accompanying lyrics, and it can be expressed in written form or in form of sound recordings.

However, the copyright for the sound recordings and for the musical score are totally distinct from each other. Sound recordings are the result of compilation of musical, spoken and other sounds in the form of a master recording. And that often leads to multiple stakeholders and different copyrights—but not always.

Jagger may have written the lyrics and Richards the music, but all copyrights, lyrics,

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll