Copyright FAQ

There are different aspects to music & sound recording copyright. A music composition may involve rights in the score and also in the lyrics. Entirely different rights and rights holders may arise from sound recordings of that work.

• You may be considering rights issues as a creator – e.g. as a composer, a performer, or a singer/songwriter.
   
• Or you may have rights questions about using existing music resources for educational use – e.g. music from a score, a sound recording, or a video, used in teaching, in a class project, in a capstone project, an MM thesis, a DMA or PhD dissertation, or a DMA document.
   
• Or perhaps you have rights questions about using existing music resources in a published context – e.g. music (on the page or in sound) in a written work you are preparing for publication.
   
• Or perhaps you have rights questions about using existing music resources when creating a podcast – e.g. music you are foregrounding as specific examples or playing in the background.
   

Music copyright can be complicated. In the following sections are key resources you may find helpful when you are trying to find answers.

• If you have questions about copyright with respect to music and/or media recordings, you may direct them to the CCM Library head, Dr Jenny Doctor (jenny.doctor@uc.edu).

COPYRIGHT BASICS

When an idea is expressed in a fixed medium – whether it be a painting, a score, a sound recording on CD, a poem, etc. – it has legal copyright protections for a set period of time.

• This allows the creator to use or exploit the fruit of their work as they see fit, or not at all.
   
• In the past, this copyright required some formality in the way of registration or notice. But no formality in the way of registration or notice is now required to ensure legal copyright protections for new works.
   

RESOURCES

• Copyright basics – from University Libraries, University of Maryland
• Copyright Term and the Public Domain – from Cornell University Library
• Copyright Law of the US (Title 17) – from the US Copyright Office

FAIR USE – MAKING A CASE

• Checklist For Conducting A Fair Use Analysis Before Using Copyrighted Materials
  – from Cornell University Library
• Guide to Fair Use – from Penn Libraries, University of Pennsylvania
• Measuring Fair Use: The Four Factors
  – from Stanford Libraries
  • Summaries of Fair Use Cases
    The best way to understand the flexible principle of fair use is to review actual cases decided by the courts. Listed here are summaries of some fair use cases, including examples of cases involving music.
  • Disagreements Over Fair Use: When Are You Likely to Get Sued?

Making a case for fair use – music/media contexts

• From the Copyright Connection, University of Wisconsin
  • Fair use guidelines for educational uses of music
  • Fair Use Guidelines For Educational Multimedia
  • Digital Millenium Copyright Act (1998)
  • The TEACH Act
     
• From the University Libraries, University of Rhode Island
  • Fair use for the use of sound recordings in online education
  • Fair use for the use of video in online education

MUSIC COPYRIGHT RESOURCES

• The Music Modernization Act (2019) 
  The Music Modernization Act (MMA) updates the US copyright law to make statutory licensing more fair for creators and more efficient for digital music providers. It is divided into three key titles: MMA — Frequently Asked Questions
   
  • Title I — Musical Works Modernization Act;
  • Title II — Classics Protection and Access Act; and
  • Title III — Allocation for Music Producers Act
• 4-part series – from The Ohio State University
  • What is music copyright?
  • Copyright duration for musical compositions and sound recordings
  • Termination of transfer for music copyright
  • Licensing opportunities for music copyright
     
• Music Copyright Infringement Resource – provides information about music copyright infringement cases from the mid-nineteenth century​ forward in the U.S. and, to an increasing extent, in foreign jurisdictions.
  • "When Songs Sound Similar, Courts Look for Musical DNA", New York Times, 1 March 2023
     
• MTNA Copyright Guidelines for Music Teachers – a Q&A piece on copyright issues that often arise for music teachers. Addresses copyright law in general, the doctrines of fair use and public domain music, the educational use of copyrighted musical works, and recitals and recordings.
   
• For the music creator:
  • What Musicians Should Know about Copyright – from the US Copyright Office
    Your work is protected by copyright from the moment it is fixed. But you can register your work with the US Copyright Office for additional benefits. Registering your work makes a public record of your ownership, and it gives you access to federal courts in the case of infringement. Applying for registration with the US Copyright Office requires an application, a filing fee, and a copy of the work. Depending on the type of work, there are several different online application options (see above links).
     
  • 8 Basic Facts Every Musician Should Know About Copyright Law

SEEKING PERMISSIONS

Seeking permission from a rights-holder may reduce the risks associated with a project if it is unclear whether your proposed reproduction or public distribution (in print or online) of an in-copyright work is permitted under US copyright law. Where the associated rights are unclear, or if the intended distribution of a work is broad (for example, where the proposed use is designed to be shared online without restriction), seeking permission for your use now may be the lowest-cost avoider of potential problems in future.

Requesting permission is not necessary if the work you would like to borrow from:

• has never been subject to copyright-protection,
• is currently in the public domain,
• is available for your use through an existing Library license,
• or if an exception under copyright law clearly supports your intended use, for example, the use can be argued successfully as a fair use.

When an idea is expressed in a fixed medium, whether it be a painting, a score, a sound recording on CD, a poem, etc., it has legal copyright protections for a set period of time, allowing the creator to use or exploit the fruit of their work as they see fit, or not at all. In the past, this copyright required some formality in the way of registration or notice, but that is no longer the case for new works.

Once that period of time expires, or if the creator failed to comply with any required legal formalities, the work enters the public domain – meaning it belongs to everyone, without restriction. Before the expiration of copyright, the creator may also decide to dedicate the work to the public domain, giving that creation to the public to use.

Determining what is or isn't in the public domain can be a complicated and lengthy process. However, these charts compiled by Peter Hirtle of Cornell University Library – "Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States (PDF version)" – can help guide you through complex US copyright rules.
 

HOW TO SEEK PERMISSIONS

• When to seek permission to use musical works and sound recordings - from the University of Michigan Libraries
   
• Guide to seeking permission for use of in-copyright works – from Penn Libraries, University of Pennsylvania
   

You can find music resources online that are available to use freely, without needing to argue for fair use or to request permission (for one of the reasons given above).

• Guides: finding online score resources and finding digital facsimile scores
   
• For further examples of onlines scores, online audio, and online video available to use freely, see box below
  (NB: taken or modified from Public Domain and Creative Commons: A Guide to Works You Can Use Freely
  – from the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana).