Copyright On Musical Work

Copyright On Musical Work

Subject: Science and tech

Section: IPR

Context- Last week, the Madras High Court admitted a plea from composer and lyricist Ilayaraja, challenging a single-bench order that had permanently prevented him from asserting his copyright over his own musical work and master recordings for 30 films of the 1980s.

Concept-

MUSICAL WORK:

• A musical work is the composition itself and does not include the lyrics or any sounds.
• It receives the full set of rights under copyright law, just like the literary, dramatic or artistic work.
• Generally, a sound recording is based on a musical work and in such cases, the author of sound recording is required to obtain permission from the owner of musical work.

Definition

• Section 2(p) of the Act provides that- “musical work” means a work consisting of music and includes any graphical notation of such work but does not include any words or any action intended to be sung, spoken or performed with music.

Author of the musical work

• According to the section 2(d)(ii) the author in relation to the musical work is a “Composer”.
• Whereas according to section 2 (ffa) “Composer”, in relation to a musical work, means the person who composes the music regardless of whether he records it in any form of graphical notation.
• An application for Musical Work may also be filed by joint authors/composers. Section 2(z) defines “work of joint authorship” as a work produced by the collaboration of two or more authors in which the contribution of one author is not distinct from the contribution of the other author or authors;

Term of Protection for Musical Works:

• As per Section 22 of the Act, the term of copyright protection for musical work published within the lifetime of the author until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the author dies.
• In case of joint authorship work, the term shall be counted at or immediately before the date of the death of the author who dies last.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MUSICAL WORK & SOUND RECORDING

• It has been observed that few of the applicants, while filing the copyright registration applications, face difficulty in differentiating between Musical Works and Sound Recording Works.
• As observed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Indian Performing Rights Society v. Eastern Indian Motion Pictures Association [AIR1977 SC 1443] “In a musical work “Copyright is not the soulful tune, the super singing, the glorious voice or the wonderful rendering. It is the melody or harmony reduced to printing, writing, or graphic form”
• Sound Recording has been defined under Section 2(xx) as a recording of sounds from which such sounds may be produced regardless of the medium on which such recording is made or the method by which the sounds are produced.
• A Sound Recording Copyright may be claimed in the aggregate of sound embodied in any tangible medium, including phonograph discs, open-reel tapes, cartridges, cassettes, player piano rolls, and other material of objects in which sound are fixed and can be communicated either directly or with the aid of machine or device.
• When a graphical notation of a musical work is recorded in any medium from which sound may be produced, it amounts to Sound Recording.
• The author of a sound recording work is the Producer of the sound recording, as opposed to Composer being the author of Musical Work.

About COPYRIGHT:

• Law – Copyrights Act 1957, amended in 2012
• Ministry – Copyright Office, Ministry of Human Recourse Development
• Copyright is a bundle of rights given by the law to the creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and the producers of cinematograph films and sound recordings.
• The rights provided under Copyright law include the rights of reproduction of the work, communication of the work to the public, adaptation of the work and translation of the work.
• Computer Software or programme can also be registered as a ‘literary work’. As per Copyright Act, 1957 “literary work” includes computer programmes, tables and compilations, including computer databases. ‘Source Code’ has also to be supplied along with the application for registration of copyright for software products.
• The 2012 amendments make Indian Copyright Law compliant with the Internet Treaties – the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT).
• Copyright for Lifetime of the author + sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the author dies.
  • Literary
  • Dramatic
  • Musical and
  • Artistic works
• Until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar years next following the year in which the work is first published
• • Anonymous and pseudonymous works
  • Posthumous work
  • Cinematograph films
  • Sound records
  • Government work
  • Public undertakings
  • International Agencies
  • photographs
• India has a very large copyright-based creative industry.
• India was the first country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty 2013 for Access to copyright works for visually impaired persons.