In our lectorial we discussed copyright and all the important aspects of the matter which we will need to know in regards to our future work.
Copyright is ‘the exclusive and assignable legal right, given to the originator for a fixed number of years, to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material’.
We learnt that whoever creates the work, owns the work, under certain circumstances. We also learnt that the duration of copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years (so a very very long time)
We also began discussing copyright of music. Copyright needs a license when music is being commercially released, is engaging someone to perform music or commissioning a musician.
Copyright in music really interests me after watching Sunday Night on The Little River Band.
Known as one of musics “most bitter feud”, the band, in the beginning created several hits such as Reminiscing, Cool Change, and Help Is On It’s Way, but once all these members had their time in the spotlight, the band members all parted ways and the band had some more members come and go.
In this transition, the members changed, with none of the original Little River Band members, who created massive hits which are still earning them money, left.
Nowadays, the newer Little River Band tours in the name of the old band, copyrighting and singing the songs in which the originals wrote. Amazingly, when interviewing members of the audience at the bands concert, nobody seemed to realise these were not the original members of that band.
Now, the original band wants the newer version of the band to stop using their name and songs to earn them money, and the new band claims they have the complete right too.
This was a perfectly timed episode just prior to our discussion of copyright, which in all it’s forms, can cause disputes and hence people need to be very careful and try not to infringe.
The Little River Band =
The ‘Little River Band’ =
