Lingo

The compulsory mechanical license rate has been in existence since the 1909 Copyright Act. The statute places a ceiling—per record, per song—on the royalty a copyright owner can obtain (the royalty rate of 2 cents remained the same from 1909 to 1978). Provision was made, under the 1976 Copyright Act, for a periodic review of the rate. Such a review took place in 1980, whereby the royalty rate was increased in yearly increments. The statutory rate for 1999 is 7.10¢ per song for each copy of the CD or tape distributed or 1.35¢ per minute of playing time, whichever is greater. For subsequent years, the mechanical rates will be as follows:

2000 and 2001: 7.55¢ per song or 1.45¢ per minute

2002 and 2003: 8¢ per song or 1.55¢ per minute

2004 and 2005: 8.5¢ per song or 1.65¢ per minute

2006 and later: 9.1¢ per song or 1.75¢ per minute

Copyright protection acquired by virtue of the provisions of the U.S. Copyright Act.

Monetary damages obtainable by a copyright owner of a work for its infringement. The amount is at the discretion of the court, but ranges from $500 up to $20,000 for each infringement, and up to $100,000 if the infringement was willful. If actual damages and profits attributable to the infringement would be greater than statutory damages, the copyright owner can choose to seek those instead.

A contractual arrangement between an original publisher of a song and a foreign publisher to handle the exploitation, licensing and collection for the song in the foreign publisher’s territory.

The exclusive right of a copyright owner granted by the Copyright Act to authorize the recording of a musical work onto the soundtrack of an audio/visual work. The song is synchronized with images on the screen, hence the name.

Money earned by a publisher (and, consequently, divided with the songwriter) for the use of a song for which a synchronization license has been issued.

Universal Serial Bus. A standard bus type for all kinds of devices, including mice, scanners, digital cameras, printers, and others. Commonly used in low-cost audio interfaces, supplanting the need for both power and midi cables on many controllers.  Protocol supports 12 Mbps transfer rate. Hot swappable - devices can be connected and disconnected while computer is on.

Velocity is how MIDI represents how hard a note is pressed on a controller.

An agreement by which the buyer (user) agrees to pay the licensor a flat fee for the use of a song, with no increase based on sales of videocassettes/discs.

An agreement by which the buyer (user) agrees to pay the licensor a continuing fee (either in advance or based on sales as per agreement). Every time a specific sales point has been reached, the fee is “rolled over,” i.e. paid again.