United States Copyright Laws

After a couple of “failed” attempts of making a device that could be used for mass sharing of music in the late 1800s, an immigrant from Germany had finally come up with an idea that would change everything. Chichester Bell (Alexander Graham Bell's cousin) and Thomas Edison’s idea to record sounds on round cylinders was a good idea except for the sound quality and general effort that was required to make and replicate sound. The Phonograph was one of the earliest attempts at recording devices. Thomas A. Edison wanted to create this device in order to assist with business interactions. He originally used foil to record sounds, but this wasn't the best medium. You could only play sounds once and the quality wasn’t the greatest. This is when wax cylinders came into play. It was eventually decided that the wax cylinder wasn't strong enough to record something permanently. Next followed the graphophone. This invention by Bell fixed the replay problem, but mass production of music would’ve been impossible because of the sheer amount of work involved in recording each cylinder separately (Bells).

Copyright is any expression recorded in any physical form, published or unpublished in any medium whether it is music, books, artworks or newspaper articles. Federal publications, facts and ideas are not copyrighted (www.honolulu.hawaii.edu). The very first copyright law that was established was known as the Statute of Anne, which was authorized in England in 1710 (history of copyright, 2005). The newly founded constitution allowed secure rights to its creators. An act very similar to the Statute of Anne was passed by congress in 1790 as the first American copyright law (history of copyright, 2005). As more and more books were produced and were becoming more accessible domestically and internationally in Europe and North America, it became

In 1971 The U.S Congress passed the Sound Recording Amendment to the 1909 Copyright Statue. Through this act, it was acknowledged that audio recordings were worthy of legal copyright protection. This was the beginning of a new era for the music industry. The Sound Recording Amendment was enacted due to the bootlegging of vinyl records in hope of preventing the coping of music. Coincidentally, the issue of bootlegging music remains unsolved. “Much of the animosity toward our existing copyright framework stems from the unpopular tactics of the record industry, which tries to enforce copyright laws to sustain an increasingly outmoded system.” With the introduction of the Sony Walkman in 1979, music became more limited in format while remaining extremely versatile and convenient. Eventually, the persistent Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was granted the right to earn taxes on every sale of a blank tape.

Pre-1972 sound recordings are considered classic and legendary, which should be respected and protected. However, digital (terrestrial) radio companies continue to exploit it as public domain and do not feel obligated to pay out royalties to its copyright owner(s). Under the Copyright Act 1909, all sound recordings are protected by state law, but after the Copyright Act of 1972, sound recordings created after February of 1972 were federally protected (Brook 126). This lead to the question: What about the federal protection of sound recordings created prior to the Copyright Act of 1972? Pre-1972 sound recordings are not federally protected, meaning copyright owners are exempted from receiving the same rights as post-1972 copyright owners. Since

The origins of Australia and Singapore’s law of copyright are connected as both the laws first originated from the United Kingdom (UK). The first copyright statute, British Statute of Anne 1710 which was named after Queen Anne, was initially applied to the copying of books only. As the first modern copyright law, it recognized copyright as an author’s right, a major and important change in philosophy and in law. Registration of works in the Stationers’ Company register book was required of the owners of the rights as a condition of protection.

A phono record is defined by the United States Copyright Act of 1976 to be a material object which embodies sounds (other than those accompanying audio-visual recordings such as movies), for example cassette tapes, CDs or albums. angel Zuniga (2018) “Phono records” are material objects in which sounds, other than those accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work, are fixed by any method now known or later developed, and from which the sounds can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. The term “phono records” includes the material object in which the sounds are first fixed. Thomas Alva Edison in 1877 )Reverse tape effects are special effects created by recording

Shortly after the phonograph, came Emile Berliner’s gramophone and flat discs that took over 1888. Similar to the phonograph, the gramophone was a device used in the recording and reproduction of sound. Accompanying the device were gramophone records (a disc shaped analogue sound recording medium). These records were standardized at a speed of approximately 78

Glynn claims that he is joint owner of the copyright to RUST under the Copyright Act and seeks a declaratory judgment under the Declaratory Judgment Act. Facepunch argues that Glynn has pled that claim with insufficient particularity. Facepunch also argues that the first contract between Facepunch and Glynn shows that Facepunch did not intend for Glynn to have any ownership interest in RUST.

Copyright problems arose with the advent of the free availability of information on the Internet. It was easy for people to steal music, movies and images from the internet and use them to create their own mash-up piece. Prior to the internet copyrighting actually encouraged creativity. Once music sharing websites like Napster began, musicians and other artists began suing and copyright laws became more rigouous in their scope and enforcement.

The music industry has undergone radical changes since the end of the 1990’s, largely a function of the internet and its effects on sales and copyright. Besides placing artists and their music on the world stage, the internet also permitted the downloading of music from free-file- exchange networks. A parallel and equally worrisome, phenomenon is record pirating, a practice made easier by the proliferation of CD burners and access to high speed internet. Unauthorized downloading and pirating circumvent intellectual property laws and result in reduced sales. “In Atlantic Canada, average annual household expenditures on CDs and audio cassettes dropped by 27 percent between 1996 and 2001, from $96.00 to $70.00.”

Sound recording was initially invented in 1857 by Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville. The development of sound recording has gone through multiple stages to become what it is today. From phonographs to magnetic tapes and further developments, sound recording has been used within the music industry for ages. The government does not regulate the process of sound recording, however conflicts regarding copyright infringements are present.

In 1877 the first phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison. The phonograph was the first method of recording and playing back sound. This was Edison's first great invention. The new invention gave Edison international fame. He toured the country with the phonograph and was even invited to the White House to demonstrate the invention to President Rutherfor B. Hayes in 1878. The records had a spiral groove etched into it with sound information that the "arm" of the gramophone, which held a needle, would run through while being hand-cranked and play the sound through the gramophone speaker. The record was the first sound recording that could be mass produced in 1900 which was perfected by Eldridge Johnson. LPs (Long Playing record) also known

In this class I have learned about 1500 years’ worth of music. Not too many of us remember vinyl or 8tracks. In my parents’ day, they would sell mixed tapes and mixed CDs at school and local clubs. Now we are a streaming generation with our iTunes and Pandora apps only being a click away on our smart devices. The music industry has changed quite a bit over the last couple of decades and it is all thanks to new technology.

In early 1800’s, Thomas Alva Edison invented a method of recording and playing back sound with a simple apparatus. Thus began the evolution of music industry. From gramophones to tapes to compact discs, music industry has undergone drastic transformations with improvised technologies and innovations.

Since the U.S. Copyright Act became law in 1790, the copyright term has been increasing. “Copyright is an intangible property right granted by federal statue to the author or originator of certain literacy or outside productions.” The first major change was the Copyright Act of 1976, it gave American authors the right to print, re-print, or publish their work for 14 years and then to renew for another 14. In 1998, Congress passed the Sonny Bono Copyright Act also known as the Mickey Mouse Copyright Act, which extended protection from life of the author plus 70 years as well as taking away the need for a copyright notice and registration. The result was that many whom did not have copyright protection due to lack of copyright notice and registration were now protected. Following the Mickey Mouse Copyright Act, they passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which intended to create a new updated version of copyright laws to deal with the challenges of regulating digital material. It aimed to protect the rights of both copyright owners and consumers, and without it copyright owners would have a difficult time obtaining legal action against those who copy copyrighted material.