Advocate MS Bharath breaks down the law on copyright

Unlike the West, music industry in India, particularly in south and Tamil, has been constantly entwined with the film industry. This has not only made artists cross paths and make the transition from indie music to film music, but also has led to raising questions on who claims the ownership of music, and the pressing legalities of it. With veteran composer like Ilaiyaraaja still in legal battles over rights of his musical creation, the importance of copyright has become an important aspect to understand.

Lawyer Bharath, in conversation with OTTplay, speaks about the legal detailing that goes into the intellectual property rights of music related creatives. His Kria Law along with International Trademark Association, held a recent panel discussion that addressed the various topics including rights of independent artists, music copyright and role of AI.

Ilaiyaraaja

Here are some excerpts from the conversation:

Why do you think it is necessary that copyright issues surrounding music should be made aware to artists and public?

I will take a different example. If you are buying a plot or land, you check about who is the owner, get a legal opinion, check the title at registrar and then invest your money. In case of copyright law, there is dichotomy. One will be an author and other will be owner. Sometimes it can be one person also. The author is the person who sweats and make the creative, and identification of authorship is not difficult. Say, I am commissioning a jingle for my company, which will include singer, composer, instrumentalists and lyricist. These will have different people handling and they record it. The one who is in charge of the production, is the owner of the jingle while the authors have performing rights. Let’s say there is a composer like Ilaiyaaraja or Rahman, singers like SPB, lyricist like Vaali, and Drums Sivamani as instrumentalist. All of these are done on the expense of the person who is commissioning the money. Sometimes, the producer might get money from financier.

Is there a difference between authors and owners when it comes to music?

AR Rahman

Yes. Authors are the one who contribute to the making of music, in this case, lyricists, singers, instrumentalists, and composers.

What are the layers of music copyright laws?

Sound recording can happen on a particular day, for a CD, or MP3, for a particular note, sound, lyrics. The same musical notes can be performed on stage, but that is not sound recording but live performance of musical notes/lyrics. Sound recording which is done inside the studio, is what which is monetised on Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms.

The same musical note or lyrics can be performed by same set of people, which is not playing of sound recording. The owner can sell the rights of sound recording to multiple parties, say as a background music in an advertisement, or made into a karaoke. But the underlining works of vocals, musicians, and lyricists, is a different royalty which has to be paid as many times the sound recording is played anywhere. But if sound recording is not used, but a live performance is being performed without the track, it is only the musical notations of composer’s, lyrics of the writer. So, the royalties will go them, and not the producer or singers because their works are not used in the replication.

Does a composer have the right to use in another producer’s work?

All is about the contract, and how the artists agree upon. If a composer is influential enough to convince producer 1 to retain the rights of usage, then he can. You can agree to exceptions, if the contract says so, which is why young musicians and directors make more money than older ones who are in court. It is all about agreements between individuals and corporations. The bottom line is that the artists and composers should be aware what they sign. If you are influential enough composer, you can put down your foot and ask for rights of the compositions. Nothing is etched on stone, but where a lot of mistakes happen is where movie producers sell the same assets/rights to more than one person.

How does the copyright work when using regional folk music and songs?

Copyright law states that after the lifetime of the artist and 60 years later, the creative works come to the public domain. Folk and folk music have been since time in memory and have been in the public domain. So, they can be picked up. Things can be picked from the Bible, or any religion texts, Mahatma Gandhi’s works are in public domain now and for the enjoyment of public.

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