Disclaimer: This FAQ should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only. You are urged to consult your own solicitor on any specific legal questions you may have.
 
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Your Creation Is Copyrighted

Producers' rights to sound recordings, officially referred to as ‘phonograms’ and in the industry as ‘records’, regardless of format are in are defined out in international agreements, and national legislation.

Phonogram producers are related rights holders whose economic rights include sound recording reproduction, distribution, renting, and Internet dissemination, according to the Rome Convention, the TRIPS Agreement, and the WPPT.

For example, once a record producer or a record company has created a sound recording (which may be fixed in the form of a vinyl record, cassette tape, CD, MP3, or other digital files), no one else is allowed to copy, sell, rent, or disseminate the recording on the Internet without the company's permission. If they do, it would be copyright infringement.

Radio and television stations, shopping centres, and clubs in some countries are required to pay a fee to the producer to broadcast the recording. For phonogram and video makers who want to generate audio and video recordings, they must obtain the author's permission and pay money before using the underlying copyrighted work, such as a song.

Unlike the related rights of sound recording producers, video producers' rights are often exclusively provided for in nations with a civil law legal system rather than a common law legal system, and refer to makers of low-originality video recordings that do not constitute audio-visual compositions.

If you have any questions regarding IP around video and sound creation, call one of our team today to protect your work and give you the peace of mind it won't be stolen.

 
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