The Stuff Copyrights Are Made Of

Anyone working in the music industry knows how vital the role copyright plays. Understanding how it works is not just a requirement, but a way of life, especially for those engaged in songwriting, publishing, recording and producing.

But are you aware that copyright goes much deeper than the basic process of protecting works? Once you start to drill down a few feet, all kinds of goodies start to come to the surface. Goodies that can open doors of opportunity and accelerate the growth of your music business, substantially.

Let’s suppose, for example, you’re an existing music publisher or someone looking to build a catalog of songs – but your current funding is low to zero. Your solution may be far simpler than you realize. By going to the public domain, you can cherry pick your way through some of the greatest songs in the world, where you can acquire new copyrights, simply by creating a new arrangement.

Public domain is an area where songs, films, plays, works of art, have run out of copyright so that anyone can rearrange or readapt the original work for their own purposes.

The opportunity, then, to build catalogs of music (or films, books, magazines, works of art etc.), is there for anyone looking to build an empire, starting from practically nothing.

Now, a word of warning. Because the work you’re using, happens to be in the public domain in your own country – it doesn’t necessarily follow that the same work is also public domain in another country. Different countries have different copyright laws.

Having said that, there is an existing copyright agreement amongst different countries, known as the rule of the shorter term, also called the comparison of terms – a provision in international copyright treaties that allows participating countries to limit the duration of copyright they grant to foreign works to the copyright term a work is granted in its country of origin.

This really is a great opportunity for anyone looking to acquire catalogs of songs, films, books, at a small cost.

However, you will need to do some copyright research before you can be sure the work you’re checking on – is indeed in public domain in another country. If you have any doubts or questions, before starting, you may want to seek advice from an attorney experienced in intellectual property rights.

If you have questions send email to info@morganhausentertainment.com

Have a great week!

Dennis R. Sinnott