Intellectual Property 1

What is it?
Intellectual Property (IP) is a legal term that describes a creation of a
human mind, such as music (composition), invention, design, written
word, etc.

Is it protected?
Yes, IP is protected by intellectual Property Rights (IPR), such as
copyrights, patents, trademarks, etc., as defined by the law. Those
grant the IP owner exclusive rights. Music is protected by copyright.

Who owns IP?

The creator of any IP is its owner under the law.

Are the IPR universal?

No, they are not, as the law differs from country to country.
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Is copyright limited in time?
Yes, according to the copyright laws and depending on the
jurisdiction (place where these laws apply) copyright expires in time.
In most countries the default length is the life of the IP owner plus 50
or 70 years. In case of a recording the length is 50 years since the
date it was first released.

What are the exclusive rights of copyright?

to produce copies or reproductions of the work and to sell those
copies (including, typically, electronic copies)
to import or export the work
to create derivative works (works that adapt the original work)
to perform or display the work publicly
to sell or cede these rights to others
to transmit or display by radio or video
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What is copyright transfer?
A copyright holder might transfer the copyright to another party, in
part or in full, in exchange for royalties or other benefits, usually by
signing an appropriate contract with such party. Music copyrights are
usually transferred by the composers to a publishing company,
which than, in exchange for a percentage of the income generated
by the copyright, makes an effort to market the music.

What is a copyright license?

Copyright may be licensed to another party in exchange for a
royalty. Some licensing might by compulsory (by law), for example
license to broadcast by radio or TV and other uses.

What can be copyright?

Music (composition), text (lyrics), recording (master), film (video), etc
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What is public domain?
Any copyright that expires according to the copyright terms
applicable becomes public domain, i.e. can be used freely without
infringing any IPR.

Who takes care of the copyright business?

Composers, publishers, copyright collectives, collecting societies
and performing rights organizations (such as ASCAP, BMI and
SESAC in the USA, and their parallels in other countries) take care
of the copyright royalties, which can be very substantial.

If you are a musician, please remember!

Write, perform and record your own music! Only composers have
copyrights and therefore they earn much more money in the long
term than performing musicians.
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Royalties 1
What are royalties?
Royalties are payments due for commercial use of copyrights.

What are music royalties?

(1) royalties from "print rights
(2) mechanical royalties from the recording of composed music on
CDs and tape
(3) performance royalties from the performance of the
compositions/songs on stage or television through artists and bands
(4) synch (for synchronization) royalties from using or adapting the
musical score in the movies, television advertisements, etc.
(5) digital rights from simulcasting, webcasting, streaming,
downloading, and online "on-demand service".

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Royalties 2
The UK model as an example:
Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) (ZAiKS)
licenses the writers copyright for sound recordings
Performing Right Society (PRS) (ZAiKS)
licenses the writers performance rights
Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) (ZPAV)
licenses the right to perform sound recordings (usually by
broadcasters, clubs and pubs)
Video Performance Limited (VPL) (MPLC)
licenses the right to perform music video recordings (usually by
broadcasters, clubs and pubs)
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IFPI
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the
umbrella organization that represents the interests of the recording
industry. Its stated mission is to promote the value of recorded
music, safeguard the rights of record producers and expand the
commercial uses of recorded music. Its services to members include
legal policy advice (lobbying), anti-piracy enforcement, litigation and
regulatory affairs, market research and communications support.
IFPI represents the recording industry worldwide with some 1,400
members in 66 countries and affiliated industry associations in 45
countries (ZPAV). According to the IFPI, "any company, firm or
person producing sound recordings or music videos which are made
available to the public in reasonable quantities is eligible for
membership of IFPI", though the company does not specify what
"reasonable quantities" actually means. Due to the fact that the
Majors dominate the IFPI it is sometimes referred to as the Big
Mafia.
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ISRC
The International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) is the
international identification system for sound recordings and music
video recordings.
ISRC enables recordings to be uniquely and permanently identified.
ISRC helps to avoid ambiguity and simplifies the management of
rights when recordings are used across different formats, distribution
channels or products. The ISRC for a recording remains a fixed point
of reference when the recording is used across different services,
across borders, or under different licensing deals.
ISRC is widely used by producers of recordings, by digital services
and by Music Licensing Companies.

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Barcode
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data
relating to the object to which it is attached. Originally barcodes
systematically represented data by varying the widths and spacings
of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or one-dimensional
(1D). Later they evolved into rectangles, dots, hexagons and other
geometric patterns in two dimensions (2D). Although 2D systems
use a variety of symbols, they are generally referred to as barcodes
as well. Barcodes originally were scanned by special optical
scanners called barcode readers. Later, scanners and interpretive
software became available on devices including desktop printers and
smartphones.
UPC

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Musicians Union
A Musicians Union is an (national) organization which represents
musicians working in all sectors of the music business.
As well as negotiating on behalf of musicians with all the major
employers in the industry, the MU offers a range of services tailored
for the self-employed by providing assistance for professional and
student musicians of all ages.
The Musicians Union has specialist full-time officials available to
immediately tackle the issues raised by musicians working in the live
arena, the recording studio, or when writing and composing.
Such issues can range from copyright protection to valuable
contractual advice or from the recovery of unpaid fees to crucial
work in health and safety.
Add to this the many services that the Union provides and you have
an organization that can assist its members throughout their
professional careers and beyond.
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