Problems Raised by Technological Advances on Copyright in Musical Recordings
Problems Raised by Technological Advances on Copyright in Musical Recordings
Files
Publication or External Link
Date
1961
Authors
Geraci, Philip Charles
Advisor
Hathorn, Guy B.
Citation
DRUM DOI
Abstract
This thesis attempts to point out a number of lacks in the present
Copyright Act which exist because of recent advances in electronic
technology. Specifically, it attempts to indicate the enormous growth
of electronic entertainment for the home, and to show how this new form
of entertainment poses problems concerning copyright which never have
existed before.
Since very few cases are on record which deal with the use of recorded
music at home, it has been necessary to examine cases which deal with
copyright and music in general terms and to draw analogies to adapt
existing precedent to new situations. It is pointed out in some detail
that the Copyright Act of 1909, still in effect today, does not treat
present conditions as explicitly as might be liked, and results in considerable
confusion where non- commercial and non-profitable use of
recorded music is concerned.
The subject is of vital interest to copyright attorneys, manufacturers
of recordings and recording equipment, performing rights societies,
artists, and amateur hobbyists since no thorough analysis of problems
raised by home recording has ever been made. The handful of acknowledged
authorities on the subject have only a personal opinion on the outcome of
any hypothetical case dealing with home recording.
Whether or not a home recordist violates the Copyright statute when
he records music from a radio has never been officially determined. It
is the intent of this paper to analyze the Copyright Act and its judicial
and practical application and show how. by several lines of reasoning.
home recording does not infringe.
The thesis is divided into chapters which deal with the growth of
modern technology. the present Copyright Act. performing rights societies
and judicial interpretation. Finally. a concluding chapter offers a
solution to the mounting problem of home recording as it could be treated
in a general revision of the Copyright Act.