Overview of Songs Copyright
Copyright can be obtained for original music, literary, artistic, dramatic, and cinematography films and sound recordings in India. The Copyright Act, of 1957 (“the Act”) lays down the laws relating to copyright in India. A copyright in any work gives a person the legal right to create his work against copying or stealing. Authors and creators have obtained copyrights to protect original works. Artists to protect their work from infringement.
Song Copyright is govern by the provisions of the Copyright Act and Copyright Rules, 2013 (“Rules”). A song has various elements. A song is completely finish when the songwriter first writes the song. The lyrics are then given music by the composer of the song. The singer sings. The song can be perform by a singer or recorded in a studio. Song producers record it. Usually, a song is a collective effort of many people. But sometimes a song can belong to only one person if he wrote the song, composed the music, and sang it.
Ownership In a Song
A song is not a single piece of work. Under the Copyright Act, a song is into various parts. The owner of each part can obtain a copyright for his part in the song. If the song is written, composed, and sung by one person, he can claim copyright over the whole song.
The persons involved in making a song and their copyright in it is as follows –
Lyricist
Section 2(d)(i) of the Act states that in a literary work, the person who writes is the author of that work. The person who writes the lyrics of a song is the lyricist. The lyricist is the author of the song, and it comes under literary work in the Act. Thus, he can get the copyright for the lyrics of the song as the author of it.
Composer
Section 2(d)(ii) of the Act states that in relation to a musical work, the composer is the author of it. According to Section 2(p) of the Act, musical work is the work which has music and includes graphical notation of such work but does not include any words or any action intended to be sung, spoken or performed with the music. Thus, musical work is giving music to the lyrics of the song. Composer of a song is the person who provides music to a song, and thus is the author of the music in a song. He can obtain a copyright for the background music in a song.
Singer
Section 2(qq) of the Act defines a performer which includes a singer of the song. When the singer gives the performance of a song, he has the performer’s right concerning his performance. He has the right to make a sound recording of his performance and reproduce it or issue copies of it on an electronic medium. The right to sell the copies or recording made by him. He has the right to protect his copies or recording against infringement. But his performer’s right will not affect the rights of the author, i.e., the lyricist and composer of the song.
Producer
Section 2(d)(v) of the Act states that the person who does the sound recording is the author in respect of that sound recording. Section 2(uu) defines the producer of a sound recording as the person who takes the initiative and responsibility for doing the work. Since the producer of a movie or album undertakes the recording of a song and broadcasts it in movie or album, he is the author of the recording of the song. Thus, he can get the copyright for his recording of the song.
Documents required to obtain an Songs Copyright
NOC of the Author/Publisher/Producer/Composer & All other persons involved in the song creation.
FAQs About Songs Copyright?
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