So that’s actually what’s fascinating here. My understanding is that since this is before 1978 you couldn’t copyright the recording. Only the song. So this lawsuit is specifically about the sheet music that was submitted to the copyright office in 1973. Nothing about the recording is at play
So that’s actually what’s fascinating here. My understanding is that since this is before 1978 you couldn’t copyright the recording. Only the song. So this lawsuit is specifically about the sheet music that was submitted to the copyright office in 1973. Nothing about the recording is at play
That may change the dynamic, certainly. Artists may avoid even listening to, much less covering pre-1978 songs then to be able to say truthfully they relied on the copyright office’s scrutiny of their sound recordings to avoid infringement. My most recent sound recording copyright got really complicated in a hurry, but the copyright specialist was very helpful (after a lot of back and forth) in offering an elegant solution. I was expecting faceless bureaucracy, but it was exactly the opposite. I am hopeful the Sheeran case will provide some clarity and I’m in complete agreement with you that it at least appears absurd.
So that’s actually what’s fascinating here. My understanding is that since this is before 1978 you couldn’t copyright the recording. Only the song. So this lawsuit is specifically about the sheet music that was submitted to the copyright office in 1973. Nothing about the recording is at play
That may change the dynamic, certainly. Artists may avoid even listening to, much less covering pre-1978 songs then to be able to say truthfully they relied on the copyright office’s scrutiny of their sound recordings to avoid infringement. My most recent sound recording copyright got really complicated in a hurry, but the copyright specialist was very helpful (after a lot of back and forth) in offering an elegant solution. I was expecting faceless bureaucracy, but it was exactly the opposite. I am hopeful the Sheeran case will provide some clarity and I’m in complete agreement with you that it at least appears absurd.
Totally interested to see how it plays out. Gotta check out your newsletter