CMP Music Business and Copyright Law 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the duration of copyright protection for a sound recording created by an individual in the United States today?
- Life of the author plus 70 years (Correct answer)
- 95 years from publication
- 120 years from creation
- 28 years with one renewal
Correct answer: Life of the author plus 70 years
For sound recordings created by an individual author, copyright lasts the life of the author plus 70 years under current US law.
Question 2: A music producer signs a 'work made for hire' agreement with a label. Who owns the copyright?
- The producer retains full ownership
- The label owns the copyright as the employer (Correct answer)
- Ownership is split 50/50
- The songwriter owns the underlying composition
Correct answer: The label owns the copyright as the employer
Under work-for-hire agreements, the employer or commissioning party—here the label—is considered the legal author and owns the copyright.
Question 3: Which organization issues Mechanical Licenses for digital downloads in the United States through the Music Modernization Act?
- ASCAP
- BMI
- The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) (Correct answer)
- SESAC
Correct answer: The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC)
The Music Modernization Act of 2018 established the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) to administer blanket mechanical licenses for digital audio transmissions.
Question 4: What does a 'first use' doctrine mean in music copyright?
- The first artist to record a song owns it forever
- Once a song is commercially released, anyone can record it with a compulsory license (Correct answer)
- The first licensee has exclusive rights for 5 years
- First-use grants a royalty-free license
Correct answer: Once a song is commercially released, anyone can record it with a compulsory license
The compulsory mechanical license under Section 115 allows anyone to record a cover of a song that has already been commercially released by paying the statutory rate.
Question 5: A producer samples 2 seconds of a drum loop without clearing it. What is the most likely legal risk?
- No risk because 2 seconds is below the legal threshold
- Copyright infringement of both the composition and the sound recording (Correct answer)
- Only trademark infringement applies to short samples
- The producer is protected under the de minimis doctrine
Correct answer: Copyright infringement of both the composition and the sound recording
The Sixth Circuit's Bridgeport ruling established that any copying of a sound recording, no matter how brief, can constitute infringement; there is no de minimis exception for samples.
Question 6: What is a 'sync license' used for in the music industry?
- Synchronizing audio files across multiple streaming platforms
- Permission to pair a musical composition with visual media (Correct answer)
- A license to perform music live at a synchronized event
- Aligning royalty payments across multiple PROs
Correct answer: Permission to pair a musical composition with visual media
A synchronization (sync) license grants the right to use a musical composition in timed relation to visual content such as film, TV, or online video.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes 'moral rights' as they relate to US copyright law for music?
- US law grants full moral rights to all musical works
- Moral rights in the US apply only to works of visual art, not music (Correct answer)
- Moral rights allow songwriters to collect double royalties
- Moral rights transfer automatically upon signing a publishing deal
Correct answer: Moral rights in the US apply only to works of visual art, not music
Under VARA (Visual Artists Rights Act), moral rights in the US apply only to works of visual art; musical works do not receive statutory moral rights protection.
CMP Music Business and Copyright Law 2
What is the duration of copyright protection for a sound recording created by an individual in the United States today?