Copyright and Fair Use

By: Tori Martin

 Purpose
According to Copyright.com

• Copyright is a form of legal protection given to content creators through

the assignment of specific rights to works that qualify for protection.

• The main goals of copyright are to encourage the development of culture,

science and innovation, while providing a financial benefit to copyright
holders for their works, and to facilitate access to knowledge and
entertainment for the public.
• Copyright provides a framework for relationships between the different
players in the content industries, as well as for relationships between
rightsholders and the consumers of content.
• Copyright is a form of Intellectual Property, along with trademarks and
patents in all countries, and other creations (such as trade secrets, sui
generis database rights, rights of publicity and the like) that may vary from
country to country.

http://www.copyright.com/learn/about-copyright/
Overview
 The Basics of Audio
Copyright
1. Copyrighted work must be original
2. Violation of Copyright Law must be established in
court
3. Master recording copyrights are administered (and,
often, owned) by record labels
4. Compositional copyrights are administered by
publishers
5. Copyrights last 70 years past the owners lifetime
6. Cover versions require only a mechanical license
and only in the US

Source: https://soundcharts.com/blog/music-copyrights
 Two types of Audio Copyright
Composition
The compositional copyright covers an
fundamental musical composition:
• the arrangement of notes, melodies, and
chords in a specific order.
• It is held by songwriters, lyricists, and
composers, and managed by their music
publishers (who also partially own the
copyright).
Master Recording
The master copyright covers the precise sound recording, or
“master recording,” that contains a particular expression of the
underlying musical composition created by performing or
recording artists.
• This copyright is held by the performing artists and, typically,
their label. 
• A band that both writes and records their own music can have
two titles under the copyright law.
• The structure of the music copyright behind any given song can
get complex.
Source: https://soundcharts.com/blog/music-copyrights
Fair use or Plagiarism?
Scenario 1
•  A student is taking a distance learning class in which
the instructor has required that a particular
assignment be created for unlimited distribution on
the web. A student includes an audio segment of
copyrighted music (video, news broadcast, non-
dramatic literary work).

Fair use or Plagiarism?

Fair use?
No! Since the teacher specifically stated that
the project is being created for distribution over the
web, this is not a fair use of any of the listed
copyrighted materials and permission should be
obtained.
 Scenario 2
• Institution A creates a telecourse. The course
contains copyrighted text, video, audio, and
photographs relevant to the class. If Institution A did
not obtain permission to use the copyrighted
materials, can Institution A show the videotape of the
telecourse to students who have signed up for a
telecourse at Institution A?

Fair use or Plagiarism?

 Fair use?
Yes!
  Most experts believe that showing the videotape to
students enrolled in the telecourse is a fair use.
Scenario 3
• A professor wishes to make a copy of an
article from a copyrighted periodical for her
files to use later.

Fair use or Plagiarism?

Fair use?

Yes! This is a classic example of personal fair use so

long as the professor uses the article for her personal
files and reference.
References
• Copyright and Fair Use: Common Scenarios. Research
Guides. (n.d.).
https://csulb.libguides.com/copyrightforfaculty/scenarios.
• Wilson, C., & Minow, M. (2021, March 12). Home.
Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center.
https://fairuse.stanford.edu/.
• About Copyright. Copyright Clearance Center. (2021, June
14). http://www.copyright.com/learn/about-copyright/.
• Ucaya. (n.d.). Market Intelligence for the Music Industry.
Soundcharts.
https://soundcharts.com/blog/music-copyrights.