5. Using Copyright Material
Copyright is an international law recognised in the vast majority of countries around the world, and any breach is a criminal act and classified as theft. Copyright can exist in a whole range of works, including music, photographs, graphical or artistic works, films and videos, and designs. Without express permission from the person who owns the copyright, the videographer would be breaking this law if they used or reproduced those works in any form. Likewise, rights exist in performance and similar permissions have to be gained in order to use the performances legally.
5.1 Musical Works
A common scenario is when a videographer wants to use musical works within a production. Unless you are using music which has been specifically produced for this purpose (referred to as ‘Copyright Free Music’), you will need to obtain permission from a number of parties. These include the person who wrote the music and lyrics and the record company who published the music, plus the artists performing the works. The copyright in a song exists for 70-years after the death of the composer, but this can be affected by the date that the music was performed and published (which may have been posthumously).
5.2 Royalties & Licences
There are various bodies that collect royalties and offer licences on behalf of rights owners. In the UK these include MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) and PPL (Phonographic Performance Ltd) but there will be an equivalent to these in every country which recognises copyright ownership. MCPS issue licences on behalf of the Composers and Publishers of music and lyrics. PPL issues licences on behalf of the Record Companies and Performers.
MCPS and PPL offer blanket licences for videographers producing private function productions (including wedding productions), which do not require the videographer to obtain prior consent from the rights owners. Details of the level of coverage can be found on the IOV site.
5.3 Incidental Recordings
Using music in videography is not only consigned to dubbing commercial recordings on to your productions, but can also include the recording of ambient music being played live at an event or being played from a recording. Whilst there are some instances where the recording of music might be considered as ‘Incidental’ and therefore not in breach of copyright, in most circumstances the videographer will be in breach of copyright if they do not first obtain permission.
To be deemed Incidental, inclusion has to be incidental rather than featured, and at the same time accidentally, carelessly or recklessly recorded. For instance, as the musical content at a wedding is nearly always a feature, and a videographer would purposely record that music as part of the work, then a licence(s) will be required in order to comply with copyright law as it stands.
5.4 Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Can I get my client to sign an agreement indemnifying me against any copyright theft that might result from me producing works for them?
A. No. This is a bit like saying: “Can I steal something from a shop for someone else if they tell me to?” The Copyright Designs & Patents Act clearly states that it is the mechanical act of copying at which the law is broken.
Q. I’ve got an album of Beethoven’s music which I’d like to use – surely this music would be out of copyright?
A. The original arrangement by Beethoven would be, but the album itself will not. This will be the copyright of the music publisher and will also include the performance rights of the musicians who are performing on it. If you took the original Beethoven music, employed an orchestra to play it and recorded it yourself – then you could virtually do whatever you like with it.
Q. Once I’ve bought a licence to use the music, can I keep using it again and again?
A. No. Essentially you will be granted a licence to use the music on a specific production. If its use is outside of any blanket licence agreement, this will generally also be governed by a time period and geographical regions.
Q. I’ve found a picture on a website and in a magazine that I want to use in my video. As this is in the public domain, surely I would not be breaching copyright if I used it in my video?
A. Copyright will naturally exist in works of this type and others including written works, drawings, designs, etc. Whilst there is some material which has been produced to enable you to use it freely, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act clearly states that you must use your best endeavours to establish who owns the copyright of material and to seek their permission to use it.