Who Owns The Rights in a Song: Evolving Trends in Music Copyright in India
Abstract
It is trite to say that copyright is a bundle of rights. This truism is best demonstrated when a song is played on the radio or performed as part of a cinematograph film. Under the Copyright Act in India, copyright attaches to original literary, musical, artistic and dramatic works; sound recordings and cinematograph films. The creation of a song at the most basic involves the intermeshing of lyrics and musical composition (literary and musical copyrights) to supplement a singer's performance, all these elements reduced to permanent form by way of their confluence in a sound recording or a cinematograph film. When played on the radio or performed as part of the film, the song brings into play a blend of these underlying rights as one final ensemble.
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