Lingo - Copyright

Copyright registration form for a sound recording, usually obtained by the record company to protect the fixation of sounds on the recording. An SR form can be used to register the song (the © copyright) as well as the sound recording (the (P) copyright), if the copyright claimants of both are the same.

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.

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.

Work for hire is a special term used in the Copyright Act. Normally, when a person or group creates a copyrightable work, whether a song or a computer program or a sculpture, the person or persons creating the work have a copyright in the work. Thus, the creators can exploit the work and receive money for their creative energies. A work for hire is when a person creates a copyrightable work but does not own it. The Copyright Act allows for the copyright to go not to the creator but to the person who hired the creator to make the work. The law treats the creator as if he did not even participate. The employer owns the copyright and it is as if they created the work themselves without any help from the actual creator.