This presentation provides an introduction to copyright and music licensing. It describes the different types of rights protected by copyright law, including musical compositions, sound recordings, and related rights. It explains concepts like copyright duration and infringement. Key points covered include how copyright provides exclusive rights to creators, the distinction between musical compositions and sound recordings, how licenses work for different uses, and penalties for infringement. The presentation aims to explain copyright fundamentals in layman's terms for non-specialists.

2. Zeeshan Chaudhry - EMI (Pakistan) Ltd.
Copyrights &
Music Licensing
This presentation is intended to provide an
introduction for non-specialists or new-
comers to the subject of copyright and
related rights. It explains in layman’s terms
the fundamentals underpinning copyright
law and practice.
It describes the different types of rights
which copyright and related rights law
protects, as well as the limitations on those
rights

3. “... my problem isn’t piracy, it’s obscurity” - Cory Doctorow

4. What exactly is a Music Copyright?

5. What exactly is a Music Copyright?
Think of a copyright as a bundle/basket of exclusive
rights. The exclusivity means that only you as the
copyright owner may exercise those rights in your music,
or authorise others to exercise them.
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most
governments, that grants the creator of an original work
exclusive rights to its use and distribution, usually for a
limited time, with the intention of enabling the creator of
intellectual wealth (e.g. the photographer of a
photograph or the author of a book or lyricist of a lyrics
or composer of a composition) to receive
compensation for their work and be able to financially
support themselves.

6. Musical Composition vs. Sound Recording
When you hear a song on the Radio / TV / CD you are hearing two separate copyrights: one for the underlying musical
composition and one for the sound recording. The distinction between these two is important, because even though they are
both attached to one song, they are two separate works for copyright purposes and may be independently licensed or
enforced. It is easier to understand this distinction if we look a little closer at what each copyright consists of:
A musical composition consists of music, including any accompanying words. The author of a musical composition is
normally the composer of the work along with the lyricist (if the lyricist and composer are separate). A musical composition
can be in the form of a notepad copy (such as sheet music) or in the form of a phonorecord (tape, CD, LP, etc.)
A sound recording (or master recording) results from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds. The
author of the sound recording is typically the performer(s), the record producer, or both.
In many cases an artist will enter into a publishing agreement in which they will sign over all or part of their copyright in their
compositions to a publisher in return for the administration of those compositions. As part of this administration, a publisher
will seek out people who want to use the artist’s composition in their own works or performances, issue the necessary
licenses, collect the money, and give the artist their agreed upon percentage. It is also common to see performers grant
their copyright in their sound recordings to the record label they are recording under.

7. Musical Composition vs. Sound Recording
When an artist wants to release a cover song, they must get permission from the copyright holder of the musical
composition. If, however, a recorded song is being used, the person using the song would potentially have to seek
permission from two people: the person that has the copyright in the musical composition (usually the composer or
publisher) and the person who holds the copyright in the sound recording (typically the performer, record label, or producer).
As an example, consider the popular song “Keh Dena Ankhoo Sey” made famous by Alamgir Haq. The song “Keh Dena
Ankhoo Sey” was originally composed by Mr. Alamgir Haq, written by Mr. Nasir and released in 1981.
Three Decades later “Kristie Yung" released her version of the song. Inspite of the fact that Ms. Yung was going to “Re
arrange” (in certain cases also called “Jhankaar”) an existing tune , WITHOUT changing the melody, she still needed to
seek permission from the original “Publisher” (the Body/company/Artiste/Composer as it may apply) who held the
Master Rights for the song. As she was going to be physically altering the “likeness” of the “original plate”.
She did not seek the said permissions and proceeded to record the product. However in another scenario, if she had secured
requisite permissions then SHE would control the new / revised “likeness” while certain amount of Publishing fees would be
forwarded to the original owners of the copyright.
So, there is a copyright element in a pirated / unauthorised version too……… WHY? Because some level of “Intellectual
Thought” regardless of the mollified intent was given to developing the new product. Hence it is commonly seen that popular
songs have several variations.
A major point to note is that the original Artiste Mr. Alamgir Haq will ALWAYS hold the right and authority to perform the said
recording, however, HE CANNOT give out the RIGHT to change / modify / alter the song / track without first reconfirming his
own control over the recording.

8. Exclusive Rights
Holding a copyright in a work means that you have exclusive rights to the use of that work. These exclusive rights include
the rights of:
Reproduction. The right of reproduction allows you to decide who may make a copy of your work, such as using it in a
movie, using a sample, or publishing it as sheet music.
Derivative Works. This right allows you to decide who may make a new work based on your original work, such as the
creation of a parody song.
Distribution. This right allows you to decide who may sell copies of your work.
Public Performance. This right controls the performance of your song on the radio, in clubs or restaurants, on television, or
anywhere else where the performance would be deemed “public”.
The first two rights, involving reproduction and derivation, are infringed whether violated in public or in private, or whether
violated for profit or not. The last two rights are infringed only when violated publicly, that is, before a "substantial number of
persons" outside of family and friends
All of the exclusive rights afforded by copyright may have significant economic value. For example, derivative works, which
may include translations, dramatisations, films, recordings, and abridgements, can offer substantial rewards to the author.
An author may sell, license, or transfer one or all of the exclusive rights.

9. Performer’s Right
Who is a performer?
As per the Pakistan Copyright Act, a "Performer" includes an actor, singer, musician, dancer, acrobat, juggler, conjurer, a person
delivering a lecture or any other person who makes a performance.
What is a performance?
"Performance" in relation to performer’s right, means any visual or acoustic presentation made live by one or more performers.
What are the rights of a performer?
A performer has the following rights in his/her performance:
• Right to make a sound recording or visual recording of the performance;
• Right to reproduce the sound recording or visual recording of the performance;
• Right to broadcast the performance;
• Right to communicate the performance to the public otherwise than by broadcast.
What are the rights of a performer in a cinematograph film?
Once a performer has consented for incorporation of his performance in a cinematograph film, he shall have no more performer’s
rights to that performance.

10. Moral Rights
What are the moral rights of an author?
The author of a work has the right to claim authorship of the work and to restrain or claim damages in respect of any
distortion, mutilation, modification or other acts in relation to the said work which is done before the expiration of the term of
copyright if such distortion, mutilation, modification or other act would be prejudicial to his honour or reputation. Moral rights
are available to the authors even after the economic rights are assigned.
Do the author’s moral rights remain after assignment of copyright?
Yes. The moral rights are independent of the author’s copyright and remains with him even after assignment of the
copyright.
Will failure to display a work infringe the moral rights of an author?
No. Failure to display a work or to display it to the satisfaction of the author shall not be deemed to be an infringement of the
moral rights of the author.

11. Duration of Ownership
As we discussed earlier in our presentation, music copyright is broken down between musical compositions, lyrics and
sound recordings. It is important to keep this distinction in mind when considering the duration of either of these copyright
terms, because different sets of laws will govern the duration of the copyright depending on the type of work being
considered (sound recording or musical composition or lyrics) and when that work was created.
Under the original provisions of the Copyright Act of 1962, copyright protection of an authored work extended through the
life of the author and to fifty years after the author's death.
The following tables explain how copyright duration varies:
One author: Life of the author + 50 years
Joint authorship: Life of the last surviving author + 50 years
Work-made-for-hire; anonymous works; 95 years from publication or 120 years from fixation, whichever is shorter.
pseudonymous works: If an anonymous author is later revealed, life of the author + 50 years.

12. Holders of a Copyright
A copyright is initially owned by the author or authors of the work, except in the case of a "work for hire." A work
for hire can arise in two situations:
(1) where an employee creates a work within the scope of his or her employment, in which case the employer owns the
copyright to the work upon its creation;
(2) where two parties enter a written agreement designating the creation as a work for hire.
"author" means:-
(i) in relation to a literary or dramatic work, the author of the work;
(ii) in relation to a musical work, the composer;
(iii) in relation to a record the owner of the original plate from which the record is made, at the time of the making of the
place
The ownership of a copyright, or the ownership of any of the five exclusive rights afforded by a copyright, can be transferred
to another and is regarded as Personal Property upon the death of the copyright holder. Copyright ownership and ownership
of the material object in which the copyrighted work is embodied are two entirely separate legal entities.

13. Licenses by Owners of Copyright
The owner of the copyright in any existing work or the prospective owner of the copyright in any future work may grant any interest in the
copyright by license in writing signed by him or by his duty authorized agent:
Authors of musical works may use their works for their own benefit or they may instead, or additionally, allow third parties to use their
works via a license. In many instances a copyright owner will negotiate a direct license with a licensee, with both parties mutually
agreeing upon term and conditions, including the payment of a fee for the use of the work. This is known as a voluntary license. The
available licensing scheme will depend on which copyright the licensee is seeking to use (musical composition or sound recording) and
how the licensee intends to use that work.
Voluntary Licenses: There are a number of different situations in which a license must be negotiated between parties. These situations
include:
Reproduction and distribution: To reproduce and distribute a sound recording, a master recording license must be obtained from the
copyright holder. To use the underlying musical composition, a compulsory mechanical license must be secured, as discussed below.
Reproduction in audiovisual works: If you want to use a sound recording in a visual work, such as a commercial or movie, a master
recording license must be obtained from the copyright holder. To use the underlying musical composition, a separate synchronization
license must be obtained from the copyright holder.
Public performance: If you would like publicly perform a work, you must secure a license for the musical composition, and if applicable, the
sound recording. For larger music users, such as radio stations or restaurants, it is typical to secure a blanket license from a performance
rights organizations (the major organizations being COMP). Performance rights organizations (PROs) enter into agreements with publishers
to license out all of the publisher’s songs. Individuals or organizations who negotiate a blanket license with the PRO are permitted to publicly
perform any song within the PRO’s collection. The fee for this use will be negotiated between the parties and will vary according to the scope
of the use and the nature of the entity using the works.

14. Licenses by Owners of Copyright
Compulsory Licenses: There are a number of licenses that are compulsory, meaning that the copyright owner must
issue a license to a person seeking to use the work. These licenses include:
Cable television rebroadcast: Local broadcasting stations must allow cable companies to re-transmit their signals, for a
set fee.
Public broadcasting system: Copyright owners must license the use of their published nondramatic musical works and
published pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works in connection with noncommercial broadcasting.
Digital performance of records: Copyright owners of sound recordings must allow performance of their recording if used in
a noninteractive digital audio transmission. The four categories of works generally covered by this compulsory license are:
eligible nonsubscription services, preexisting subscription services, new subscription services, and preexisting satellite
digital audio radio services.
Phonorecords and digital downloads of nondramatic musical compositions: Once a non-dramatic musical work has
been recorded and released to the public through a phonorecord (e.g. CD, audio DVD, MP3, record), the owner of the
musical composition copyright must license use of the composition to anyone who wants to use it in a phonorecord, so
long as the licensee does not change the basic melody or fundamental character of the song. This is known as a
compulsory mechanical license. Many publishers handle their mechanical license on their own. In the event that the
original work did not meet the requirements for a compulsory mechanical license (e.g. the work was not released to the
public, the work was a dramatic musical work, etc.), a voluntary license must be negotiated with the copyright owner.
The new media rights of ringtones and permanent digital download are also subject to a compulsory mechanical license.

15. Copyright Infringements
Which are the common copyright infringements?
The following are some of the commonly known acts involving infringement of copyright:
i. Making infringing copies for sale or hire or selling or letting them for hire;
ii. Permitting any place for the performance of works in public where such performance constitutes infringement of copyright;
iii. Distributing infringing copies for the purpose of trade or to such an extent so as to affect prejudicially the interest of the owner of copyright ;
iv. Public exhibition of infringing copies by way of trade; and
v. Importation of infringing copies into Pakistan.
vi. Exportation of infringing copies out of Pakistan.
Has the owner of an auditorium or a hall any liability while renting out the place for communication to the public of a copyrighted work?
Yes. If a person permits for profit any place to be used for the communication of a work to the public, where such communication constitutes an
infringement of the copyright in the work, unless he was not aware and had no reasonable ground for believing that such communication to the public
would be an infringement of copyright, he will be deemed to have committed an offence under the Copyright Act.
What are the civil remedies for copyright infringement?
A copyright owner can take legal action against any person who infringes the copyright in the work. The copyright owner is entitled to remedies by way of
injunctions, damages and accounts.

16. Copyright Infringements
What is the proof of the authorship of a work?
Where, in the case of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, a name purporting to be that of the
author or the publisher appears on copies of the work as published, or, in the case of an artistic work
appeared on the work where it was made, the person whose name so appears or appeared shall, in
any proceeding in respect of copyright in such work, be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to
be the author or the publisher of the work, as the case may be.
work, as the case may be.What are the rights of owner over infringing copies and equipments
used for making infringing copies?
All infringing copies of any work in which copyright subsists and all plates used or intended to be used
for the production of such infringing copies shall be deemed to be the property of the owner of the
copyright.
Is copyright infringement a criminal offence?
Yes. Any person who knowingly infringes or abets the infringement of the copyright in any work
commits criminal offence under the Copyright Act 1962.
Who is responsible for copyright offence committed by a company?
Every person who at the time the offence was committed was in charge of, and was responsible to
the company for, the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the company shall be
deemed to be guilty of such offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against.

17. “Just because something is traditional is no reason
to do it, of course. Piracy, for example, is a
tradition that has been carried on for hundreds of
years, but that doesn't mean we should all attack
ships and steal their gold.” - Lemony Snicket

18. Thank you!!!
Zeeshan Chaudhry
General Manager
EMI (Pakistan) Ltd
Email: zeeshan@emipakistan.com
Cell: +92 331 2273529