WHAT IT MEANS FOR A SONG TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

A happy and prosperous new year to you, my blog subscriber and reader! Success is yours and mine in 2018 in Jesus' name. Amen!

In my last post of 2017, I wrote about the advantages of working with a music publisher. I also wrote that in my next post, I would explain the term, public domain.

So, here I go!


Songs can fall within the public domain in two categories:  

• When creative compositions are not protected under the copyright law from inception
• When the legal claim to a song expires (lapses)

Let me explain these clearly.

• When creative compositions are not protected under the copyright law from inception: A work is in the public domain when no one on this entire planet can find any law which gives them legal claim to that property.Public domain is the complete absence of any law allowing ownership of a property. If you can prove that a composition is in the public domain, you can use the work any way you can imagine. You can arrange, reproduce, perform, record, publish it and use or sell it commercially any way you like.This opportunity could arise as a mistake on the part of a songwriter who does not legally guard his song.
• When the legal claim to a song expires (lapses):  The copyright to a song will eventually expire and the owner will no longer have exclusive rights to his song. This is because the copyright to every song in Nigeria and many foreign country lasts for the lifetime of the author (songwriter) plus 70 years.For example, Fela Anikulapo Kuti must have collected royalties for his music during his lifetime. He died in 1997. From 1997 up till 70 years' time, his heirs/children/grandchildren/estate will collect his royalties from all over the world. These heirs have been enjoying from Fela's sweat for 21 years now (1997 - 2018). They have 49 more years to go. After these 49 years, anybody in the world can use Fela's songs without being harassed or arrested.

The legal term public domain refers to works whose exclusive intellectual property rights have expired,have been forfeited,have been expressly waived, or are inapplicable.

For example, the works of Shakespeare and Beethoven and most of the early silent films, are all now in the public domain by either being created before copyrights existed or by their copyright term expiring.

I look forward to your questions in the comment section below.

I am musically yours,

DJ Irawo