Legal Question in Technology Law in California

Re: Downloading Copyrighted Music

Unauthorized "downloading" of copyrighted music is illegal because the technology typically utilized to perform the transmission involves processes that essentiall "copy" or "reproduce" the work in order to perform the download. The right of a copyright owner to prevent unauthorized reproduction or duplication is one of the rights provided by copyright law.

Determining whether something is copyrighted is usually ascertained by the notice provided with the music. However, the copyright law does not require such notice to afford protection, as copyright protection vests immediately to the author upon creation of an original work expressed in a tangible medium of expression.(e.g. a music work). In other words, if the song/music was original to the person(s) that created it and it is expressed in a form that is either perceptible by human senses or by a machine (e.g. you can listen the the music with the aid of some technology) it is copyrighted. However, in the case of major music titles, the artists and/or musicians typically assign their copyright to the major record labels in exchange for a contract. So the copyright holder in that case may not be the original author (e.g. songwriter/musician) if he/she assigned his/her copyright.

Finally, you can research this matter in greater detail at the U.S. Copyright Office website located at http://www.loc.gov/copyright/. Note also, that the above discussion relates to United States copyright law only. Remember that the internet is global, so music from other countries may be subject to different copyright laws, and in some cases, for example, if you have someone living in the U.S. downloading a copyrighted title owned by someone from another country and located on a foreign website, there will likely be a conflict of law situation if a formal dispute ensues (e.g. U.S. law versus the foreign law involved).

Contact me with any further questions. However, I prefer that you do not quote anything I have said directly in your article since I will likely have no opportunity to review the accuracy of your understanding of what I have stated.