Summary of Copyright Laws
There are a number of copyright laws, both federal and state, that dictate the specific protections afforded to copyright owners. Summaries of the relevant federal and state copyright laws that govern sound recordings are outlined below.
Federal Laws
U.S. Copyright Law {Title 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq., Title 18 U.S.C. Section 2319}: Federal law protects sound recordings that were first recorded on or after February 15, 1972. The law protects copyright owners from the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of sound recordings, as well as certain digital performances to the public.
Sound recording copyright infringements can be punishable by up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Repeat offenders can be imprisoned for up to 10 years. Individuals also may be held civilly liable to the copyright owner for actual damages or lost profits or for statutory damages up to $100,000 per infringed copyright.
In addition, on October 28, 1998, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was signed into law. The DMCA provides new protections and responsibilities for both service providers and copyright owners concerning copyright infringement on the Internet. Specifically, Title II of the DMCA, "The Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act" grants service providers a limitation on liability for copyright infringement occurring on their systems or networks. However, in order to be eligible for this limited liability, a service provider must comply with the specific requirements delineated in Section 512 of the DMCA. Among other things, it must:
- Designate an agent to receive notifications of infringement from copyright owners (information about the submission requirements to the Copyright Office can be found at http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/onlinesp/
- Comply with notice and takedown requirements which means that upon receipt of a DMCA-compliant notice from the copyright owner (or its representative) the service provider must respond expeditiously to remove or disable access to the infringing material; and
- Adopt and implementa policy providing for termination of subscribers and ccount holders who are repeat infringers.
Also, under the DMCA, copyright owners canobtain from an Internet Service Provider (including colleges and universities) certain information concerning users who have posted infringing works or have otherwise violated copyright law. Through an expedited subpoena process, copyright owners can obtain information "sufficient to identify the alleged infringer."
Those recordings recorded prior to February 15, 1972, are protected by criminal law through a state's unauthorized duplication statute. On the civil side, recordings are protected by a state's unfair competition laws.
Anti-Bootleg Statute {Title 18 U.S.C. Section 2319A}: This statute criminalizes the unauthorized recording, manufacture, distribution or trafficking in sound recordings and music videos of "live" musical performances. Comparable provisions also exist at the state level. This statute carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Trademark Counterfeiting {Title 18 U.S.C. Section 2320}: This federal statute deals with sound recordings that display the counterfeit trademarks of the legitimate manufacturers or artists. The statute covers the "trafficking" as well as the attempt to traffic in goods containing the counterfeit marks. The penalties imposed by this statute for legal entities, such as corporations, range from $1 million to $5 million. Penalties for individuals range from five years in prison and/or $250,000 in fines to 15 years in prison and/or $1 million in fines.
State Laws
Nearly all stateshave piracy-related laws that make it a criminal offense to pirate, counterfeit or bootleg audio recordings. States also have unfair competition laws that allow record companies to protect their rights in recordings made prior to February 15, 1972. The most commonly used state criminal laws are:
Unauthorized Duplication Statutes: Pirate and counterfeit sound recordings made prior to February 15, 1972 are covered by these statutes. Like federal laws, these provisions typically make it illegal to copy, reproduce and distribute sound recordings without proper authorization from the owner of the recording.
Anti-Bootleg Statutes: Performers are protected against piracy under these statutes, making it a crime to copy and manufacture the sounds of a live performance of an artist and to distribute these reproductions.
Many of these statutes carry a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine; other statutes carry misdemeanor penalties.
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