What can I
do with my copyright?
By Anthony
Pranata of Courtney Aarbo Fuldauer LLP
So you are the owner of a copyright. What does that mean?
It means you have the sole discretion to do whatever you
want with the work. No one can use your copyrighted work without your
permission.
There are several common ways to exploit your work. Firstly,
you can enter into a license agreement.
It is an agreement between you and another party where you authorize that party
to use your copyrighted work. The license will normally dictate the extent to
which the other party can use your work, the duration of the license, and what
you are getting in return (often money).
Secondly, you can assign
your work to another party. This is similar to a license in that you authorize
another party to use your copyrighted work to whatever extent you agree upon,
except that the authorization is of a permanent duration. Think of this like
selling the right to your work to someone else.
Thirdly, you can have a copyright
collective or copyright organization
represent you. There are different copyright collectives available depending on
the area of your work. For example, if you are the copyright owner of a musical
work, you may be interested in the Society of Composers, Authors, and Music
Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), which is the copyright collective for the
performing rights in musical works.
Let’s say that a band wanted to play your musical work in a
commercial setting, such as at a concert. The band would have to get your
permission in order to legally use your music, which would normally involve you
and the band entering into a license agreement where you grant the band a
license to play your music at that concert. However, tracking you down may be
difficult, and unless the band was particularly interested in playing your
song, the band may simply choose the next song on their list if that song’s
artist is easier to locate. SOCAN eliminates the need to personally track down
every artist to obtain a license agreement. Provided that you have registered your
musical work with SOCAN, SOCAN has the ability to grant the band the necessary
license to allow it to play your song at the concert in exchange for a license
fee to be paid by the band. As SOCAN grants more and more licenses to different
parties to use your musical work, SOCAN will obtain more and more licensing
fees from these parties. SOCAN will then provide you with a payment
proportionate to the number of times your song has been used. These payments
are called royalties.
As already indicated, there are different copyright
collectives for different areas of work in order to streamline the process of
obtaining a license to use that work. If you are interested in taking advantage
of a copyright collective, whether to make yourself known or to make your work
more easily accessible, you should find the right copyright collective for your
situation.
by Anthony Pranata, Barrister and Solicitor
Anthony's email: apranata@courtneyaarbo.ca
Anthony's bio: http://www.courtneyaarbo.ca/pranata.php
Or for more information, please contact the law office of
Courtney Aarbo Fuldauer LLP at:
Address: 3rd Floor, 1131 Kensington Road NW, Calgary,
AB, T2N 3P4
Phone: (403) 571-5120
Email: info@courtneyaarbo.ca
*The information contained in
this blog is not legal advice. It should not be construed as legal advice and
should not be relied upon as such. If you require legal assistance, please
contact a lawyer*
