Music rights: how Ukrainian artists can protect themselves from plagiarism

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With the beginning of a full-scale war, there were not many hopes that the Ukrainian music industry would receive a powerful push for development. After all, all attention was directed to more important matters. However, already in the first months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, mass listeners switched to Ukrainian music in a patriotic desire to distance themselves from artists from the aggressor country.

However, domestic musicians faced another problem – how to protect against plagiarism?

Music plagiarism – as it is

First of all, about plagiarism. The most common definition stems from the etymology of the word “plagiarism”, which comes from the Latin plagiatus – “stolen”. In simple terms, plagiarism is the theft of material from the original authors or rights holders.

Music plagiarism is the use of copyrighted music or song lyrics without the consent of the copyright owner. It should be noted that plagiarism will be considered not only complete copying of the entire work, but also the use of its separate parts: verses, musical passages or the main melody, even the coincidence of seven notes in a row or two measures.

There are several types of plagiarism. Deliberate and systematic plagiarism, which involves the deliberate borrowing by the plagiarist of other people’s materials and passing them off as his own. And if the court proves that the author of the song or the performer is guilty of plagiarism, the compensation amounts are quite large. For example, a few years ago, singer Katy Perry, record company Capitol Records and other creators of the song “Dark Horse” were fined $2.78 million for plagiarism. The court case lasted 5 years. As a result, the jury made a verdict regarding the deprivation of the copyright for Katy Perry’s song. Meanwhile, her song became a megahit after its release in 2013.

Another type of plagiarism is unintentional or accidental plagiarism. It includes cases when, for example, two artists independently created very similar works. And the truth is, in music it happens that a composer can create a melody that is very similar to an existing piece, and this is completely unintentional. After all, when writing, he subconsciously drew inspiration from a previously heard composition.

A prime example of this is the lawsuit against Ed Sheeran, who in May of this year finally won the copyright case for his 2014 hit Thinking Out Loud. The British singer was sued by the heirs of American composer Ed Townsend, who claimed that Sheeran allegedly stole the main elements from the song “Let’s Get It On”, which was co-authored by their relative. The trial lasted for 8 years, during which Sheeran fundamentally defended his honor. He explained that the four chords in which Townsend’s successors found similarities are the typical building blocks of songs. And to confirm his words, he played a number of well-known songs in court using these same four chords. And here justice and the evidence base finally did their job – Ed Sheeran remained the winner in this years-long legal case.

How to protect your works?

Copyright protects the author’s rights to a musical or stage work created by him from the moment the work is expressed in material form (sheet music, phonogram, videogram or in a computer-readable form). Both finished works and working materials are subject to protection. Ideas are not subject to copyright protection.

One of the preferred options for an artist is to enter into an agreement with a music label, which will take care of all issues. The main thing is not to read the fine print in the contract, so as not to get rid of something you don’t want. But in some cases, when it comes to defining conditions and property relations, it is appropriate to register the work in an official body.

The author may submit an application to the Ukrainian National Intellectual Property Office for certification of his personal non-property rights and/or property rights to the work (published or unpublished), the fact and date of its publication, the acquisition of property rights to the work on the basis of a contract or law, and innovations (UKRNOIVI). In this way, his intellectual property will be officially confirmed.

Consideration of the application and decision-making on registration of copyright for the work or refusal of registration is carried out within a month from the date of receipt of the application documents. If it meets the established requirements, a decision is made to register the copyright to the work. On the basis of the decision on the registration of the copyright for the work and in the presence of a document on the payment of the fee for the registration and issuance of the certificate, the information on the registration of the copyright for the work is entered in the State Register of Certificates for the Registration of the Copyright for the Work. The certificate is issued within a month from the moment of registration.

Modern technical means for detecting plagiarism

Let’s assume that you are already the author of the work and have already certified your rights. And suddenly you hear something very familiar. So how do you tell if someone’s tune is plagiarized? The question is difficult, because music is a subtle thing, and not everyone can distinguish its elements with perfect accuracy.

But today gave us one of the solutions: technological.

Music is also mathematics, and the similarity of the melody can be calculated with the help of special programs. So, for example, the well-known application Shazam can find an existing song by the melody it hears. To detect musical plagiarism, you can use other programs, such as Grammarly, Audible Magic, Musopen, AudioLock, etc. However, this is not the level of specialization required in such a serious matter. Of course, with the development of artificial intelligence, plagiarism detection software will become more effective. But is it an evidence base in court?

As for the economic component of plagiarism, it is difficult to calculate. In our country, where the culture and protection of intellectual property are in the stage of development, plagiarism can sometimes be simply ignored. And this is very serious. In some cases, the person who plagiarized can earn more from it than the original author.

That is why there are currently active discussions about the creation of an IP court that would deal with intellectual property issues in a more fundamental and detailed manner. Its actual functioning would allow Ukrainians to feel more confident, because the specialization of this institution would contribute, in particular, to the protection of copyright.

Public awareness is an effective tool for combating plagiarism

Intellectual achievements in the field of art and culture as a whole form the moral principles of society, its outlook, attitude to the environment, its vision, that is, those principles that we call human values ​​and which determine the spiritual world of man and society. However, judgments are often not made in favor of people’s favorites. At the event, entire divisions of large companies are professionally engaged in the protection of copyright. And the public does not need to “monitor” whether they hear plagiarism somewhere.

But establishing justice in our country may require public support. So if you hear a piece that sounds like it’s stolen, check it out and then report it to the public or the author. After all, a society of respect for other people and their rights can only be built together.

Cover photo: MoMo Productions via Getty Images.

Olena Orlyuk, Head of the Ukrainian National Office of Intellectual Property and Innovations, Doctor of Law, Professor of the Department of Intellectual Property and Information Law of the Taras Shevchenko KNU, specially for UP. Life

Publications in the “View” section are not editorial articles and reflect exclusively the author’s point of view.

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