©Copyright Issues for Audiovisual Works

By Jonas T. Sahagun

Outline ©

1) Definition2) Scope3) Audiovisual works• Films• Sound recordings

4) Ownership5) Rights6) Limitations7) Term of protection

What is copyright?©

• Is a property right in certain types of work;

• Are the original products of skill, labor and judgment by their author;

• Duration is for a fixed period;• Gives the owner the power to control use

of a substantial part but which does not give the owner a monopoly in facts or ideas; and

• Is subject to certain defined exceptions.

Cont’d…©

• It springs from the idea that anything we create is an extension of ‘self’ and should be protected from general use by anyone else.

• Coupled with this is the idea that the person creating something has exclusive rights over the thing created, partly for economic reason but also because of this extension of ‘self’ idea.

Cont’d…©

• Copyright is the protection given by law to authors of scientific, literary, and artistic works.

• It is not one right but a bundle of rights.

Cont’d…©

• Philippine law provides that intellectual creations in the literary and artistic domain are protected from the moment of its creation.

• Works are protected by the sole fact of their creation, irrespective of their mode or form of expression, as well as their content, quality and purpose.

What things are covered by copyright?©

Copyright includes literary (written) & artistic (graphic, photographic or three-dimensional) works, dramatic works (plays, ballets, operas), musical works, films, sound recordings, radio and television broadcasts, computer software and typographical arrangement of published editions.

What is an audiovisual work?©

Section 172.1 (l) of R.A. No. 8293 states that “Audiovisual works and cinematographic works and works produced by a process analogous to cinematography or any process for making audio-visual recordings” are included as original (literary and artistic) works protected by copyright.

Cont’d…©

An “audiovisual work” is generally understood to mean a work that consists of a series of related images which impart the impression of motion, with or without accompanying sounds, susceptible of being made visible and, where accompanied by sounds, susceptible of being made audible.

Cont’d…©

• Multimedia works, interactive or not, are audiovisual works and may qualify as motion pictures.

• New CD based works that contain both audio only and audiovisual segments may also qualify as audiovisual works.

Cont’d…©

Motion pictures and other audiovisual works are copyrightable as unitary works. They also are complex combinations of other works, each including:

1) literary and dramatic works (embodied in the screenplay);

2) musical works and sound recordings (embodied in the soundtrack); and

3) pictorial, graphic and sculptural works (embodied in each frame of the audiovisual work, and possibly the copyrightable elements contained therein).

Films ©

• It includes anything from which a moving image can by any means be produced.

• This covers film of all kinds, video, DVD and any other new technologies which produce moving images.

Sound recordings©

• It is in any form of recording of sounds from which sounds may be reproduced.

• It includes wax cylinders, vinyl discs, audio cassettes, compact discs and DVDs.

• It also includes sounds recorded and stored in digital form from which sounds can be reproduced.

Who owns the copyright?©

• The owner of copyright in a work is generally the person who created the work. In other words, the author of the work.

Cont’d…©

• In the case of audiovisual works, the copyright shall belong to the producer, the author of the scenario, the composer of the music, the film director, and the author of the work so adapted.

• Subject to contrary or other stipulations among creators, the producers shall exercise the copyright to an extent required for the exhibition of the work in any manner, except for the right to collect performing license fees for the performance of musical compositions, with or without words, which are incorporated into the work.

Can archives acquire the copyright?©

• Yes, copyright, like an ordinary property, may be transferred in whole or in part. Within the scope of the assignment, the assignee is entitled to all rights and remedies which the assignor had with respect to the copyright.

What are the rights of the owner? ©

• The law specifies exclusive rights to carry out, authorize or prevent the following acts:

1) Reproduction of the work;2) Prepare derivative works;3) First public distribution of the work;4) Rental of a cinematographic work, sound

recording, computer program, musical work in graphic form;

5) Public display of the work;6) Public performance of the work; and 7) Other communications to the public of the work.

Cont’d…©

Producers of sound recordings shall enjoy the following exclusive rights:

1) The right to authorize the direct or indirect reproduction of their sound recordings, in any manner or form;

2) The right to authorize the first public distribution of the original and copies of their sound recordings through sale or rental; and

3) The right to authorize the commercial rental to the public of the original and copies of their sound recordings, even after distribution by them by or pursuant to authorization by the producer.

© The Mike Abundo Effect

If the archives has a collection of film or © sound recordings but don’t own copyright:

Can they copy it?No, not without express permission of

the owner.

Can they play it?Yes, they can be played for private

listening/viewing in carrels or somewhere similar inside the premises.

What are its limitations?©

• Copyright does not continue indefinitely. The law provides for a period of time, a duration, during which the rights of the copyright owner exist.

• The owner of a copyright in a work is protected by the law of a country against acts restricted by copyright which are done in that country.

Cont’d…©

• The performance of a work if done privately and free of charge once it has been made accessible to the public.

• The public performance or the communication to the public of a work, in a place where no admission fee is charged, by an institution for charitable or educational purpose only, whose aim is not profit making.

© Copyright for Artists: Quick and Easy Copyright Protection

How long does the copyright last? ©

• In case of audiovisual works including those produced by process analogous to photography or any process for making audio-visual recordings, the term shall be fifty (50) years from date of publication and, if unpublished, from the date of making.

Recommended reading©

For further information on other “original works” covered by copyright and their terms of protection, you may refer to the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 8293).

References©

Amador, V.B. (2007). INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FUNDAMENTALS. Quezon City : C & E Publishing, Inc.

Cornish, G.P. (2009). COPYRIGHT: INTERPRETING THE LAW FOR LIBRARIES, ARCHIVES AND INFORMATION SERVICES. London : Facet Publishing.

Filipinas Copyright Licensing Society, Inc. [2011]. PRIMER 2011. Mandaluyong City : FILCOLS.

Padfield, T. (2010). COPYRIGHT FOR ARCHIVISTS AND RECORDS MANAGERS. London : Facet Publishing.

Salao, E.C. (2008). ESSENTIALS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW: A GUIDEBOOK ON REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8293 AND RELATED LAWS. Manila : Rex Book Store.

Republic Act No. 8293: Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.