Digital Copyright

The two sections of the copyright law most pertinent to digital music are Section 114, which deals with sound recordings, and Section 115, a compulsory license for making copies of sound recordings. Until 1972, the U.S. had no copyright protection at all for sound recordings, but only for the underlying musical compositions. Copyright holders received protection against the reproduction of their recordings. Under the framework put in place by the 1976 Copyright Act, Congress extended this limited protection for sound recordings to also include performances - but only for digital broadcasts and transmissions - in the 1995 Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act. Congress has continued to toil over reforming both Section 114 and Section 115 in the past three years. Opponents of change have argued that music industry is seeking to "double dip." For example, ASCAP has sought revenues from webcasters on the grounds that the reproductions of musical compositions made in the course of an Internet radio transmission invoke Section 115. But RIAA and performers' groups counter that a webcast is a public performance subject to Section 114. As a result, the industry has not been able to agree on legislation that could harmonize changing technology with copyright law.

In general, copyright refers to the rules that govern copying and distribution of original works. Copyright law grants authors the exclusive rights to reproduction and distribution of such works. The United States copyright law is in Title 17 of the United States Code and has many specialized provisions governing the digital reproduction and transmission of audio-visual works like movies, books, computer programs, cable television and satellite transmissions, musical compositions, news and magazine articles and sound recordings of music. Other provisions of Title 17 set the rules and rates governing the reproduction and transmission of digital copyrights.

The rise of the Internet and other digital technologies has spurred a broad reconsideration of the rules of copyright. Congress frequently updated copyright laws in the 1990s, and continues to consider copyright-related legislation. In the 109th and 110th Congresses, the most significant pieces of copyright legislation deal with potential changes to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the anti-piracy "broadcast flag," and potential revisions to laws governing music licensing and web casting.

The Internet has changed the way individuals receive music, movies, news and other forms of information, putting pressure on existing copyright laws. With the advent of peer-to-peer (P2P) technology -- an Internet-enabled form of distributed computing -- and portable digital media devices like Apple's iPod, the entertainment and consumer electronics industries are frequently pitted against each other. This creates new business models, or new lobbying strategies to change copyright laws, or both. As more consumers decide to purchase content online, business models must take into account consumer demands for quality, affordability, availability and interoperability. Some in the industry have already moved towards addressing these demands, including London-based EMI Group's recent decision to sell higher quality music - without Digital Rights Management restrictions - on Apple iTunes online music store for $1.29, instead of the normal $0.99 per-song price.

In the 109th and 110th Congresses, the most significant pieces of copyright legislation deal with potential changes to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the anti-piracy "broadcast flag," and potential revisions to laws governing music licensing and webcasting. Another major piece of legislation, dubbed the PERFORM Act, pertains to satellite radio and whether the industry will be restricted in the way it designs recording devices. Other current controversies concern the way high-profile lawsuits -- including Viacom's copyright lawsuit against Google's YouTube -- address the issue of peer-to-peer computing in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2005 decision, MGM Studios v. Grokster. It is also important to note how Digital Rights Management (DRM) issues have impacted Congress' consideration of copyright law.

The rise of online peer-to-peer file-sharing services, particularly of digital music files, led groups like the Recording Industry Association of America, the National Music Publishers of America, and performing rights groups such as the American Society of Composers, Artists and Performers, Broadcast Music Inc, and SESAC to seek relief from Congress. As the original P2P service Napster opened the door to wide-scale copying and redistribution of music, many questioned whether copyright law could cope with how easy copying has become.