Re: "Fixation" question

Bob Stock <bstock[_at_]ucla.edu> wrote:
>
> On 7/10/98, Carl Oppedahl <carl[_at_]oppedahl.com> wrote:
> >
> > On 7/9/98, Roger Cloud <roger_cloud[_at_]emu.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > A singer sings a brief but somewhat distinctive phrase (e.g., a
> > > yodel - not wildly distinctive, and the person isn't famous,
> > > although he works in the trade). A recording engineer hits the
> > > "record" button.
> >
> > If the recorder is going, then it is fixed in a tangible medium. The
> > statute does not recite any requirement as to who, exactly, pressed
> > the "record" button.
>
> It may be fixed in the English sense, but it is not in the copyright
> sense unless it was done by the author or under the authority of the
> author. 17 U.S.C. section 101.

This is an interesting choice of words which raises some interesting semantic issues. If by 'English' you mean language (which I assume), then it is fixed without doubt. If rather you mean the copyright law of England then it is also fixed without doubt ;-)

For the purposes of copyright law in the USA, the issue is whether the author of the sound recording can be distinct from the author of the song (musical work) and the extent to which either (if they are distinct) provides originality.  

> > The owner of the copyright is, of course, the author, regardless of
> > the identity of the person who happened to press the "record" button.
>
> Agreed with the qualification noted above.

Yes, but which copyright?

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| Tim Arnold-Moore, LL.B., B.Sc. (Hons)
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