Soundbyting

RIAA

Education Is The Key To Answering Complex Internet Questions

The RIAA's Soundbyting Campaign, which includes a kit for university and college administrators as well as a web site, provides the core materials to serve as a framework for discussion of music and the Internet. Its purpose is to raise awareness that reproducing and distributing music illegally is akin to stealing, and such actions have serious ethical and legal consequences. The RIAA hopes to clearly outline what is allowable and to provide informative material about copyright law through its university and college materials and on the Soundbyting web site.

Working With Students and Schools

Some students are using college/university servers to establish their own music sites and are making unauthorized copies of sound recordings widely available. These sound recordings are downloaded by site visitors, who, in turn, may further distribute the recordings. This occurs despite school policies that forbid such activity.

Because the Internet is a new frontier, there is widespread misconception about what is allowable in the context of music and the Internet. Many students believe that music sites, even if unauthorized, provide promotional benefits for their favorite artists. Others are unaware that schools have policies against using college/university servers to create such sites. There is apparent confusion about what is legal and illegal. Clearly, education is needed to clarify the law -- it's a crime -- and help students understand that these actions are potentially harmful to recording artists.

The Recording Industry Association of America, Inc. (RIAA) is committed to getting music to fans while protecting the democratic principles of copyright in the brave new world of changing technology. By working in partnership with college/university communities, the RIAA is attempting to forge a new ethic and awareness of copyright as a founding American principle that protects creativity. The goal of the Campaign is to arm college/university administrators and staff with the tools to easily educate students about the application of copyright law as it pertains to music on the Internet. By working together, the RIAA and college/university administrators will set the tone for a successful campaign.

If you are a university or college administrator, you can request these materials by e-mailing byteback@riaa.com. Please provide your name, title, school, address, telephone number and fax number in your request.

Who We Are

"RIAA" stands for Recording Industry Association of America [ http://www.riaa.com/ ]. The RIAA is the trade group that represents the companies [ http://www.soundbyting.com/html/who_we_are/links.html ] and people making up the recording industry. We work to protect intellectual property rights worldwide and the First Amendment [ http://www.riaa.com/cenship/cenship.htm ] rights of artists; conduct consumer, industry and technical research; and monitor, review and influence state and federal laws, regulations and policies. We're also the certification body for Gold® and Platinum® records as well as Diamond® [ http://www.riaa.com/diamond/index.html ] awards.

The mandate of the RIAA is to protect the rights of our members to make, produce and distribute the kind of music they choose. In 1998, we acted on international, federal and state levels to secure or defeat legislation impacting our industry and its consumers. Some highlights include:

In Georgia and Tennessee, we helped defeat bills that would have made it a crime to sell recordings with a Parental Advisory Label to minors.

In Michigan, we helped stop legislation that would have restricted the attendance of minors at concerts determined by local government officials to be “harmful to minors.”

In California, Pennsylvania and South Dakota, we help defeat legislation that would have potentially expanded the definition of obscenity, endangering the freedom of speech of artists.

We, and our members, also support an array of grassroots, community-based programs that empower young people, expand economic opportunity and support education, especially music education. From rappers working to contain gang-related violence in the streets to Rock the Vote voter registration campaigns, the RIAA membership is applying the resources and popularity of the music industry to some of the most difficult social challenges facing young Americans.

That's why we started the Soundbyting Campaign -- to educate universities and students about respecting the rights of musicians on the Internet. Because uploading and downloading somebody else's music without their permission isn't just against the law. It's a rip-off. Simple as that.

Who We Aren't

We aren't against using the World Wide Web to distribute music online. Exactly the opposite. We know the Internet will be a key part of the music industry's future. So we're all for the hardware and software that will make even more music available online [ http://www.riaa.com/tech/tech.htm ], but doing it in a way that respects the rights of artists.

We aren't the FBI. We aren't the CIA. We're not the police. In fact, we're not in any way connected with any government agency of any kind. Rather, we are a nonprofit association which represents over 350 U.S.-based recording companies. Though you might think this is silly to point out, we've received a lot of e-mail that demonstrates that there is some confusion about the RIAA. So, we thought we should clarify it.

If you want to learn more about the RIAA, you can visit our web site at http://www.riaa.com.

Copyright is rooted in fundamental tenets of democracy. When you think about it, you know what it means to own a piece of "property." That doesn't just mean a few acres of land or a house. It could be your clothes or computer. The car you drive or the paycheck from your job. If you earned it, bought it, or someone gave it to you, it's your stuff, right? You own it.

So how does it feel when a friend uses your stuff without your permission? Or worse yet, when somebody you don't even know takes it?

But what about something artistic you create? Something you thought up and put down in words on paper, with paint on canvas, on film in a camera or in notes played on a keyboard? Copyright is the part of the law protecting these original, creative works from being stolen or used without your permission.

The U.S. Constitution

The idea of copyright is written in the U.S. Constitution -- the original and founding principles of American law and government. Even before the addition of the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech and right to privacy, the Constitution included copyright protection. The very first Article of the Constitution empowered Congress,

"...to promote the progress of science and the useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries."

Even back then, copyright was all about improving society by protecting the economic incentive for people to come up with brilliant ideas and inventions. But there's another idea behind copyright. It's not about money, but morality. It's the principle that an artist or author has a right to decide what happens to their work. It's about how you feel when somebody takes a work you created without asking or giving you any credit for it.

Recorded Music and Copyright

Copyright may have begun with the idea that it was important to protect the rights of book authors and their families. But for many years now, copyright laws have also protected songwriters, composers and performers.

When it comes to recorded music, copyright is pretty complicated. The law wasn't intended to be that way. Truth be told, it's largely a matter of historical accident, precedent and timing. Because copyrights attached to written sheet music were around well before the invention of records, tapes and CDs, a system which developed to protect songwriters and composers now coexists with another system meant to protect electronic recordings of their songs and compositions.

So for any given recording, there are at least TWO copyrighted works involved. First, there's the copyright in the musical work. That is, the lyrics and musical notes as they're written on paper. This copyright is typically owned by the songwriter or music publisher. Then there's the copyright in the sound recording, which is a recording of a performer singing or playing the particular song. This copyright is usually owned by the record company.

So the only LEGAL way to reproduce a piece of recorded music -- uploading, downloading, copying from a CD, whatever - is to get permission from the owners of these different copyrights. It's called, obtaining a "license".

Licensing

For the copyright in the musical composition (the performance right), there are several organizations which may be able to help you, depending on type of license you're looking for. If you wish to publicly perform musical compositions, you need to contact one of three music licensing organizations created to represent composers and songwriter:

ASCAP [www.ascap.com]
BMI [www.bmi.com]
SESAC [www.sesac.com]

On the other hand, if you wish to reproduce and distribute musical compositions, you can contact the Harry Fox Agency [www.nmpa.org] for more information on how to obtain a license.

For the copyright in the sound recording, you MUST have permission from the sound recording copyright owner. This is typically the record company that issued (or currently owns to rights to) the CD or LP. In order to reproduce, distribute and, in some cases, digitally perform a sound recording on your site, you must get a license from the record company directly. The RIAA is not a licensing entity. Please note that there are special rules that apply to webcasts, subscription services and retransmission of radio stations. For more on these specific areas, see the RIAA's web site [ http://www.riaa.com/weblic/weblic.htm ].

The Penalty Box

So what happens if you download, upload and copy music files without permission from the sound recording copyright owner? This is the stuff you should take seriously, because like it or not, copyright infringement is against the law. It leaves you liable for civil damages and criminal fines. Even jail terms. Also, if you are a student, copyright infringement may be a violation of your school's computer use policies.

University and College Policies

Typically, university and college [ http://www.cornell.edu/CPL/ ] policies and honor codes prohibit students and faculty from using of the school?s computer system for any illegal purpose, including copyright infringement. Penalties can range from a loss of computer privileges to expulsion. And as more and more universities and colleges become aware of the problem of illicit music sites, they?ll be more vigilant about ensuring that their servers aren?t playing host to unauthorized music sites.

Federal Laws

U.S. Copyright Law {Title 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq., Title 18 U.S.C. Section 2319}: Protects copyright owners from the unauthorized reproduction, adaptation or distribution of sound recordings, as well as certain digital performances to the public. The penalties differ slightly where the infringing activity is for commercial advantage or private financial gain. Under U.S. copyright law, "financial gain" includes bartering or trading anything of value, including sound recordings.

Where the infringing activity is for commercial advantage or private financial gain, sound recording copyright infringements can be punishable by up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Repeat offenders can be imprisoned for up to 10 years.

Under the No Electronic Theft Act (commonly referred to as the "NET" Act), sound recording infringements also can be criminally prosecuted even where no profit or commercial gain is derived from the infringing activity. In cases where:

there is no commercial advantage or private financial gain; and
there is an unauthorized reproduction or distribution (including by electronic means) of one or more copyrighted works having a total retail value of more than $1,000,

the infringement can be punished by up to 3 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Repeat offenders can be imprisoned up to 6 years. Individuals also may be held civilly liable, regardless of whether the activity is for profit, to the copyright owner for actual damages or lost profits or for statutory damages up to $250,000 per infringed copyright.

Anti-Bootleg Statute {Title 18 U.S.C. Section 2319A}: criminalizes the unauthorized recording, manufacture, distribution or trafficking in sound recordings and music videos of "live" musical performances. States have similar laws. The federal statute carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

State Laws

Nearly all states have piracy-related laws that make it a criminal offense to pirate, counterfeit or bootleg audio recordings. States also have unfair competition laws which allow record companies to protect their rights in recordings fixed (recorded) prior to February 15, 1972. The most commonly used state criminal laws are:

Unauthorized Duplication Statute: Pirate and counterfeit sound recordings made before February 15, 1972 are covered by this statute. Like federal laws, these provisions typically make it illegal to copy, reproduce and distribute sound recordings without proper authorization from the owner of the recording.

Anti-Bootleg Statute: Performers are protected against piracy under this statute, making it a crime to copy and manufacture the sounds of a live performance of an artist and to distribute these reproductions. Many of these state statutes carry a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine; other state statutes carry misdemeanor penalties.

Civil Lawsuits

When it comes to copyright infringement, civil lawsuits by copyright owners are sometimes more widespread than criminal prosecutions. And if a copyright owner successfully sues you for infringement, you might have to pay monetary damages, punitive damages, legal fees (theirs AND your own). In short, you might not go to jail, but the punishment can still be very, very expensive.