Intellectual Property Rights in Media Applications Essay

Intellectual Property Rights in Media Applications - Essay Example A "dramatic work" includes a work of dance or mime; while a "musical work" means a work consisting of music, exclusive of any words or action intended to be sung, spoken or performed with the music. Section 5(1) of the Act provides that "sound recording" means - (a) a recording of sounds, from which the sounds may be reproduced, or (b) a recording of the whole or any part of a literary, dramatic or musical work, from which sounds reproducing the work or part may be produced, regardless of the medium on which the recording is made or the method by which the sounds are reproduced or produced. In the given problem, copyright subsists in the lyrics of the song 'Harlequin', the musical composition (musical notes) of the same song, and the sound recording of the song. Copyright protection therefore subsists on the foregoing works such that any infringement thereof gives the copyright owner or author of the works a claim or cause of action against the Guys. Under Section 9 of the Act, the "author" means the person who creates the work and in case of a sound recording, that person (the author) shall be taken to be the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the making of the recording or film are undertaken. Thus, in the case of the lyrics of the song 'Harlequin', the writer of the song is the author of the literary work while the composer is the author of the musical work. In the given problem, therefore, Jones is the author of the lyrics of 'Harlequin' as a literary work while at the same time he, as composer of the song, is also the author of the musical work. The author of the sound recording of the song on the other hand is Arcadia, Jones' music publishing company. Parenthetically, if the Guys does not have a license from Arcadia to use the sound recording, then the Guys may also be liable for copyright infringement of Arcadia's sound recording. Nevertheless, Jones will therefore be advised that as copyright owner of both the lyrics and musical composition of the song, being the sole author of the said lyrics and musical composition, he may have a cause of action against the Guys for infringement of his copyright over in the literary and/or musical work. As copyright owner, I will advise Jones that under Section 16 of the Act, the owner of the copyright in a work has the exclusive right to do the following acts in the United Kingdom - (a) to copy the work; (b) to issue copies of the work to the public; (c) to perform, show or play the work in public; (d) to broadcast the work or include it in a cable programme service; and (e) to make an adaptation of the work or do any of the above in relation to an adaptation. Those acts are the "acts restricted by the copyright". Furthermore, under the same Section, copyright in a work is "infringed by a person who without the licence of the copyright owner does, or authorises another to do, any of the acts restricted by the copyright" "in relation to the work as a whole or any substantial part of it" "either directly or indirectly". In view of the foregoing provisions, I will advise Jones that the Guys will only be guilty of copyright infringement if the 6-second music sample from Jones's 'Harlequin' used by