Over the past 50 years, the field of related rights, also known as neighboring rights, has developed rapidly. These rights revolve around copyrighted works and create similar, though typically shorter, protection for:
- Performers (such as actors and musicians) in their performance activities.
- Sound recording producers (e.g., record labels) in their recording activities.
- Broadcasting organizations in their radio and television broadcasting activities.
“Related rights” differ from “copyright” because they belong to intermediaries in the production, recording, and dissemination of works. Related rights are interconnected with copyright in three categories, as they support creators in the process of transmitting works to the public. For example, a musician performs a piece of music composed by a songwriter, an actor performs a role in a play written by a playwright, a record producer, often referred to as the “recording industry,” records or produces songs and music composed by lyricists and composers, which are then performed by musicians or singers. Broadcasting organizations broadcast works and sound recordings on their radio and/or television stations.
If your business relies on any of these activities or if you are a regular user of such services, you need to understand that there are important intellectual property rights that cannot be used without permission from the rights holders. This typically requires payment of a fee or royalty.
Copyright and related rights can be obtained without any formal procedures such as registration, deposit, or notification, for example, regarding a sound recording.
In fact, it’s advisable to attach a notice to sound recordings with the following three elements:
- A capitalized letter “P” inside a circle (Ⓟ).
- The name of the exclusive rights holder.
- The year of first publication of the sound recording.
