Copyright Registration

According to the U.S. Copyright Office, “a copyright is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression.” Both published and unpublished works are eligible for copyright protection.

A copyright protects a piece of intellectual property, which is the product of creativity with rights that can be granted to the owner and transferred to another. This includes literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works. Poetry, novels, movies, songs, recordings, computer software, and architecture can all be copyrighted.

Our guide has been written to explain the purpose of copyright registration, outline the registration process and dispel myths about alternative options.

If you would like to learn more about our copyright administration services to find you unclaimed royalties, please visit our website.

In this newsletter:

Both the US tech and copyright sectors agree current laws can address generative AI challenges but differ on their application. USCO head Shira Perlmutter anticipates Congress may need to reform copyright laws, as swift AI advancements complicate staying proactive.

Record labels are urging for per-song rather than per-album damages in their copyright infringement case against Grande Communications.

GEMA, Germany’s music rights organization, has sued OpenAI, claiming ChatGPT uses German song lyrics without proper licensing or payments to artists.

Now, the details...

Exploration Weekly - November 15, 2024
Compiled by Ana Berberana

US Copyright Office Boss Says She’s “Kept Up” at Night by the Speed at Which AI is Developing

Both the tech sector and the copyright industries in the US currently believe that the country’s current laws are adequate for dealing with the copyright challenges posed by generative AI. However, they have very different opinions on how those current laws should be applied. As a result, the US Congress will likely be asked to reform copyright law at some point, according to Shira Perlmutter, who heads up the US Copyright Office, and identifying the right reforms will be a challenge. Asked what keeps her awake at night, Perlmutter declared, “the speed at which all of this is developing”. Congress and the Copyright Office both want to “act with due diligence as well as promptly enough to make a difference and to be ahead of the curve as needed” she added. But, “that is difficult to do when almost every week there is some new development being reported”. Nevertheless, Congress will ultimately need to find a way to ensure copyright law doesn’t “impede the development” of generative AI, while also ensuring human creativity can “continue to thrive”. To help with that process, the Copyright Office has undertaken a consultation on copyright and AI, and is publishing three reports based on that work. Companies and organizations from across the AI sector and the copyright industries, including the music industry, made submissions to the consultation. At the heart of that project is the big debate over the copyright obligations of AI companies and whether those companies need to get permission before using copyright protected works as part of their AI training. On that issue, Perlmutter told the Senators, “by far the majority of them expressed the opinion that the existing law in the United States was adequate to deal with this issue”.

Record Labels Say ISP Should Pay More for User Piracy — Per Song, Not Per Album

After a court victory against an internet provider, record labels want more, demanding the ISP should pay per song and not per album. Universal, Warner, and Sony secured another win against internet provider Grande Communications, but the big three aren’t happy an appeals court only granted them per-album damages instead of damages per song. Now, the music publishing firms are seeking an en banc rehearing of the case, asserting Grande Communications should be forced to pay per-song damages for its failure to terminate the accounts of internet users committing piracy. According to the record labels, making Grande pay only for each album and not each song “threatens copyright owners’ ability to obtain fair damages.” The three-judge panel at the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled unanimously last month that Grande violated the law by failing to terminate the subscriber accounts of those accused of being repeat copyright infringers. Subscribers were flagged for infringement based on their IP address being connected to torrent downloads. The Fifth Circuit panel also ordered a new trial for damages, ruling that $46.8 million was far too high. The appeals court judges found the district court “erred in granting [judgment as a matter of law] that each of the 1,403 songs in suit was eligible for a separate award of statutory damages,” amounting to $33,333 per song. Specifically, the record labels are seeking to reverse the per-album portion of the ruling, leaving the rest intact.

ChatGPT Maker OpenAI, Valued at $157BN, Sued by GEMA in Germany Over Unlicensed Use of Song Lyrics

OpenAI, the $157 billion-valued US-based AI giant behind ChatGPT, has been sued by German collection society and licensing body GEMA. GEMA alleges that OpenAI, via its ChatGPT chatbot, “reproduce[es] protected song lyrics by German authors without having acquired licenses or paid the authors in question”. According to the organization, the lawsuit aims “to prove that OpenAI systematically uses GEMA’s repertoire to train its systems.” GEMA represents the copyrights of around 95,000 members in Germany (composers, lyricists, music publishers) as well as over two million rightsholders worldwide. The lawsuit marks the latest major lawsuit filed against an AI company over the alleged unlicensed reproduction of song lyrics via a chatbot. GEMA noted on Wednesday (November 13) that OpenAI “has become the world’s leading provider in the field of generative AI and now boasts annual sales over $2 billion” and that in 2024, “the company is aiming for sales of up to $5 billion”. But it claims, however, that OpenAI’s ChatGPT “was trained with copyrighted texts, including song lyrics from the repertoire of around 95,000 GEMA members” who have “not yet been paid for the use of their works”.

Spotify Reports $100 Million In Royalty Savings Since Rolling Out Bundled Offerings Since March

Spotify’s bundling pays off, but not for songwriters and publishers. The bundle move puts the company on course for its first full year as a profitable entity. Spotify posted a quarterly operating income of nearly half a billion dollars, at €454 million, putting the company’s year-to-date operating profits for the first three quarters of 2024 at €888 million. That places the company firmly on course for its first full year of profitability. “We’ve never been in a stronger position, thanks to the outstanding execution by our team. I’m incredibly proud of the way we’ve delivered and the progress we’ve made,” said Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek. “We’re where we set out to be — if not a little further — and on a steady path toward achieving our long-term goals,” he added. “This relentless pursuit of innovation and commitment to growth sets us up to deliver the most valuable user experience in the industry, while reinforcing the core strengths that make Spotify unique. I am very excited about what lies ahead for us.” That success is due in no small part to Spotify's bundling over the past year. The music streaming giant’s global Premium Subscriber base grew to 252 million paying users in Q3. That’s up 12% year-over-year and up by 6 million net subscribers in the prior quarter.

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