In a conference I attended this year, I was surprised and alarmed to discover that US Courts have split recently over an issue that might impact many home recording artists seeking to save money on copyright registration by registering albums, instead of individual songs.
Basically, some districts have ruled that registration of a copyright on a compilation does not extend to the individual works in many circumstances. These decisions occurred in the context of electronic databases containing photographs by multiple artists, and the individual artists on each photograph were not identified.
As a result, it seems to me there might be a concern that an artist who registered an album and then seeks to enforce a copyright of an individual song, for example, might find that their rights to statutory damages and attorneys fees were not preserved.
There might be some circumstances in which we can safely register the album alone, but as a general rule, it seems like we should play it safe and register the works individually.
Has anyone else been following this development? Does it sound like something recording artists need to be concerened about?
Basically, some districts have ruled that registration of a copyright on a compilation does not extend to the individual works in many circumstances. These decisions occurred in the context of electronic databases containing photographs by multiple artists, and the individual artists on each photograph were not identified.
As a result, it seems to me there might be a concern that an artist who registered an album and then seeks to enforce a copyright of an individual song, for example, might find that their rights to statutory damages and attorneys fees were not preserved.
There might be some circumstances in which we can safely register the album alone, but as a general rule, it seems like we should play it safe and register the works individually.
Has anyone else been following this development? Does it sound like something recording artists need to be concerened about?
