Copyright & Licensing
Your music is automatically protected by copyright as soon as it’s created and fixed in a tangible form—no registration needed. Copyright lasts for your lifetime plus 70 years.
However, to strengthen proof of ownership, you can
Keep Records
- Dated drafts
- Recordings
- Notes
Register with a Third Party
- You can register with IMRO for added documentation.
Use the © symbol
- Include © followed by the year of creation and your name (e.g.“© 2023 Your Name.”)
Legal Advice
- If in doubt, consult a copyright lawyer to protect your rights
For more details, visit:
Rights Administration
1. Summary
The extent of the rights administered by IMRO on behalf of its members is regulated by detailed provisions in IMRO’s Articles of Association and in special directions issued by the Board of IMRO pursuant to the Articles. These definitions are long and somewhat complicated, but their general effect in practice is as follows. Subject to the exceptions explained in the next paragraph, IMRO administers the performing right in all its members’ musical works; and the term ‘performing right’ means the right (a) to perform a work in public, (b) to broadcast a work and to cause the work to be transmitted to subscribers to a diffusion service. IMRO also administers the film synchronisation right in any musical work specially written by a member for a film.
2. Exceptions
2.1 Grand Right Works
The rights administered by IMRO exclude what are usually referred to as ‘grand rights’. This expression is generally understood to refer to performances of dramatico-musical works and ballets.
In IMRO’s Articles of Association:
– a dramatico-musical work means “an opera, an operetta, musical play, revue or pantomime, insofar as it consists of words and music written expressly therefor”
– a ballet means “a choreographic work having a story, plot or abstract idea, devised or used for the purpose of interpretation by dancing and/or miming, but does not include country or folk dancing, nor tap dancing, nor precision dance sequences”.
However, the performing right in dramatico-musical works and ballets is administered by IMRO when these works are performed by means of films which were made primarily for the purpose of exhibition in cinemas (and this control extends also to television broadcasting of such films). IMRO also controls performances of these works when given in public by means of radio or television sets (for example in a hotel lounge or a public house).
Television broadcasts of short ballets specially written for television up to a total duration of five minutes or of excerpts from existing ballets are also controlled by IMRO.
2.2 Excerpts from dramatico-musical works
The extent to which excerpts from dramatico-musical works are controlled by the individual copyright owners and by IMRO respectively can be summarised as follows:-
a) Excerpts performed dramatically are always controlled by the individual copyright owner (except in the circumstances mentioned above in which IMRO would control a complete performance of such a work and, at the option of the member who is the owner of the copyright work, IMRO may administer the broadcasting right in a dramatic excerpt subject to certain conditions).
b) As regards excerpts performed non-dramatically public performances of these fall within IMRO’s control provided that they do not exceed 25 minutes duration and neither cover a complete act of the work nor consist of a ‘potted’ version of it. Non-dramatic excerpts in excess of those limits are controlled by the individual copyright owners. The same rules apply to television broadcasts (except that the maximum duration of excerpts controlled by IMRO is 20 minutes), and as regards radio broadcasts, all excerpts, however performed, fall within IMRO’s control except where they exceed the same limits as apply in the case of public performances (subject however to the additional proviso that the total duration of the excerpt(s) must not exceed 25% of the total length of the work).
2.3 Other exceptions
The rights administered by IMRO also specifically exclude public performances (but not broadcasts) of music especially written for son-et-lumière productions and for dramatic productions in theatres, when performed in conjunction with such productions. In certain cases words written specially for commercial advertisements are also excluded from IMRO’s control.
NB a) All non-dramatically performed excerpts which exceed the above noted durations fall outside IMRO’s control and must be Licenced by the individual copyright owners.
b) All ballet music – complete or in excerpt – is controlled by IMRO when not accompanied by a visual representation of ballet.
c) If a dramatico-musical work (of specially written music) begins its performance life as a film, broadcast, record, tape or CD and is later adapted to the stage, IMRO does not control the stage performance of such an adaptation. However, pre-existing musical works used in films which are later adapted to the stage are normally controlled by IMRO in the first instance.
3. Full Definitions of Rights Administered
3.1 Performing Rights
The rights administered by IMRO exclude what are usually referred to as ‘grand rights’. This expression is generally understood to refer to performances of dramatico-musical works and ballets.
In IMRO’s Articles of Association:
– a dramatico-musical work means “an opera, an operetta, musical play, revue or pantomime, insofar as it consists of words and music written expressly therefor”
– a ballet means “a choreographic work having a story, plot or abstract idea, devised or used for the purpose of interpretation by dancing and/or miming, but does not include country or folk dancing, nor tap dancing, nor precision dance sequences”.
However, the performing right in dramatico-musical works and ballets is administered by IMRO when these works are performed by means of films which were made primarily for the purpose of exhibition in cinemas (and this control extends also to television broadcasting of such films). IMRO also controls performances of these works when given in public by means of radio or television sets (for example in a hotel lounge or a public house).
Television broadcasts of short ballets specially written for television up to a total duration of five minutes or of excerpts from existing ballets are also controlled by IMRO.
3.2 Performing Rights
The term ‘performing right’ is defined in IMRO’s Articles of Association as follows:- ‘Performing Right’ means, in relation to a musical work, the right to do, or authorise other persons to do, any of the following acts:-
(a) to perform the work in public,
(b) to broadcast the work; and
(c) to cause the work to be transmitted to subscribers to a diffusion service, in so far as such rights subsist under the law in force from time to time relating to copyright in the State, and includes such corresponding or similar rights as subsist under the laws relating to copyright in all other countries in the world as in force from time to time.
3.3 Film synchronisation right
The term ‘film synchronisation right’ in respect of any musical work means the exclusive right in any part of the world to record the work on the soundtrack of a film and the term ‘film’ has the same meaning as it has under the Copyright Act 1963, namely
“any sequence of visual images recorded on material of any description (whether translucent or not) so as to be capable, by use of that material –
(a) of being shown as a moving picture, or
(b) of being recorded on other material (whether translucent or not) by the use of which it can be shown;”
NB The assignment to IMRO of the film synchronisation right by a writer member is subject to the express provision that IMRO will at any time, at the request of the composer or author of the work, assign or licence the film synchronisation right in the work to the film producer or other person who commissioned its composition or writing provided that IMRO shall have obtained from the producer of the film on the soundtrack of which the work is to be recorded, an agreement in a form satisfactory to IMRO providing for payment to IMRO of such fees either by way of a lump sum payment or share of receipts of royalties or otherwise as IMRO may require in respect of any exhibition of any film embodying the work in cinemas (motion picture theatres) in the USA.
4. Precise Extent of Rights Administered
The precise extent to which, with effect from 1st January 1995, IMRO actually administers rights on behalf of its members is set out in the following directions adopted by the Board under the powers granted to it by the Articles of Association:-
4.1 For TV Broadcasting
The broadcasting right in every musical work of which the member is the writer, publisher or proprietor, except :-
1 – A dramatico-musical work whether staged or otherwise; provided that the rights administered by IMRO do nevertheless include the right to broadcast on television:-
a) A dramatico-musical work or an excerpt or excerpts from a dramatico-musical work broadcast by means of a film made primarily for the purpose of public exhibition in cinemas or similar premises; and
b) a non-dramatic excerpt or excerpts from a dramatico-musical work (by whatever means broadcast) – the total duration of which in the course of the same programme does not exceed 20 minutes and which excerpt or excerpts –
(i) are not a ‘potted’ version of the work or
(ii) are not or do not cover a complete act of work;
Note: At the option of the member who is the owner of the copyright in a dramatico-musical work IMRO may administer the broadcasting right in a dramatic excerpt or excerpts from the dramatico-musical work broadcast in a documentary programme where non-dramatic excerpts from the dramatico-musical work also appear in the same programme and where the total duration of all the excerpts in the course of the programme does not exceed 20 minutes.
2 – The whole or any part of any music and of any words associated therewith composed or used for a ballet if accompanied by a visual representation of such ballet or part thereof; provided that the rights administered by IMRO do nevertheless include the right to broadcast on television any such music and words so composed and used and accompanied by such visual representation when:-
a) a ballet or part or parts thereof are performed by means of a film made primarily of the purpose of public exhibition in cinemas or similar premises; or
b) a ballet or parts thereof, having been devised for the purpose of a broadcast on television, have a total duration in the course of the same programme not exceeding five minutes; or
c) a part of parts (being less than the whole) of a ballet, not having been so devised, have a total duration in the course of the same programme not exceeding five minutes;
Note: At the option of the member who is the owner of the copyright in a ballet, IMRO may administer the broadcasting right in a part or parts (being less than the wholes of the ballet broadcast in a documentary programme where the total duration of all the parts in the course of the programme does not exceed 20 minutes).
3 – Words written for the purpose of a commercial advertisement unless such words are sung to music specially written for a commercial advertisement or to non-copyright music and the sung performance has a duration of not less than five seconds.
4.2 For TV Broadcasting
The broadcasting right in every musical work of which the member is the writer, publisher or proprietor, except:
1- A dramatico-musical work; provided that the rights administered by IMRO do nevertheless include the right to broadcast on radio an excerpt or excerpts from a dramatico-musical work the total duration of which in the course of the same programme does not exceed 25 minutes or 25% of the total length of the work whichever shall be the shorter and which excerpt or excerpts –
(i) are not a ‘potted’ version or the work, or
(ii) are not or do not cover a complete act of the work;
2- words written for the purpose of a commercial advertisement unless such words are sung to music specially written for a commercial advertisement or to non-copyright music and the sung performance has duration of not less than five seconds.
4.3 For public performance
The performing right in every musical work of which the member is the writer, publisher or proprietor, except :
1- A dramatico-musical work whether staged or otherwise; provided that the rights administered by IMRO do nevertheless include the right to perform in public: –
a) a dramatico-musical work or an excerpt or excerpts from a dramatico-musical work performed by means of a film (3) or by means of a radio or television set used for the purpose of giving a public performance of broadcast programmes;
b) a non-dramatic excerpt or excerpts from a dramatico-musical work (however performed) the total duration of which in the course of the same programme is 25 minutes or less and which excerpt or excerpts –
(i) are not a ‘potted’ version of the work, or
(ii) are not or do not cover a complete act of the work;
2- the whole or any part of any music and of any words associated therewith composed or used for a ballet if accompanied by a visual representation of such ballet or part thereof; provided that the rights administered by IMRO do nevertheless include the right to perform in public any such music and words so composed or used and accompanied by such visual representation when performed by means of:-
a) a film (3); and/or
b) a television set used for the purpose of giving a public performance of broadcast programmes
3- any musical work specially written for a son-et-lumiere production when performed in or in conjunction with that production;
4- any musical work (being a musical work which is not a dramatico-musical work or part of a dramatico-musical work) specially written for production of a dramatic work in a theatre when performed in or in conjunction with that dramatic work.
4.4 For inclusion in a Cable Programme Service and for Broadcasting by microwave distribution
The right to include in a cable programme service or to broadcast by microwave distribution every musical work of which the member is the writer, publisher or proprietor except words written for the purpose of a commercial advertisement unless such words are sung to music specially written for a commercial advertisement or to non-public domain music and the sung performance has a duration of not less than five seconds.
4.5. For Film Synchronisation
In the case of a writer member only, the film synchronisation right in every work composed or written by the member primarily for the purpose of a particular film or films in contemplation when the work was commissioned.
5. Guidelines
If an excerpt from a dramatico-musical work is performed on television or on stage it will be deemed to be dramatic if it is accompanied by any dramatic action, whether acted, danced or mimed, and thereby (and/or through the use of costume, scenery or other visual effects) gives a visual impression of or otherwise portrays the writers’ original conception of the work from which the excerpt is taken.
It follows (by way of example) that a performance will not normally be deemed to be a dramatic performance if in the case of an excerpt not clearly to be regarded as ‘dramatic’ under 1 –
a) the excerpt is presented on a fixed set which is not based on the set of the original dramatico-musical work. (A ‘fixed set’ would be one which is used for the whole or a substantial part of the television or stage show); or
b) the performer(s) is/are wearing a costume which is not a costume from or based on the original dramatico-musical work; or
c) scenic effects are limited to the use of either a single prop, and/or a backcloth or a piece of scenery (whether physically present or created by technical means e.g. lighting effects) provided that the use thereof is not combined with costume from or based on the dramatico-musical work from which the excerpt is taken.
Notes:
(1) IMRO also controls the cable re-transmission of such works when the act of re-transmission derives from and is simultaneous with a broadcast of the work by radio or television. However, the circumstances in which such simultaneous re-transmission constitutes a ‘restricted act’ which can be Licenced by or on behalf of the copyright owner are somewhat limited.
(2) Guidelines to help determine whether any given performance of such an excerpt is ‘dramatic’ or ‘non-dramatic’ have been adopted by the Board of IMRO.
(3) ‘Film’ is defined as in Section18 of the Copyright Act 1963 (see paragraph 10 on page 71). It thus includes videograms (whether in the form of cassettes or discs) as well as films in the narrower sense.
(4) Broadcasting by microwave distribution is the technique by which television or sound services may be distributed, in a specified area, to homes or other places having special aerials capable of receiving microwave signals.
Repertoire
Notification of New Works
1) The online works registration facility is available in the Member Services area of the website www.imro.ie. If the work is co-written, members must confirm to IMRO, via the online declaration, that they have notified all other contributors on the work that they are registering this work on their behalf and that all contributors agree to the share splits as indicated. Where members wish to notify several similar works, provided that the number of writers is the same and the contractual details and shares are identical, additional titles can be registered by using the Copy function on the work. Online works registrations are processed on a daily basis.
Via Paper Works Registration Forms
2) There are two types of paper forms which can be used to register works: a form for unpublished works and a form for published works. Unpublished work registration forms must be signed by all contributors on the work. Where members wish to notify several similar works, provided that the number of writers is the same and the contractual details and shares are identical, additional titles can be entered on the second page of the works registration form. Paper works registrations are processed on a weekly basis.
Work Amendments
Via Paper Works Registration Forms
3) Work amendments must be submitted to IMRO on paper works registration forms. All original and new contributors to the works, for whom shares are being updated, must sign and date the amended works registration form.
Duplicate Claims
4) IMRO follows international best practice where counterclaims or disputes arise in relation to the ownership of musical works. Where a new copyright owner claim conflicts with an existing copyright owner claim, then the new claimant must be able to support this claim with documentation within 60 days before that claim can be accepted by IMRO. In the meantime, IMRO will continue to pay the original claimant. If the new claimant can document its claim, then the original claimant has 60 days to produce documentation for its claim. If the original claimant has not answered within 60 days, they will be notified that their claim has been replaced by the new claim. If both parties maintain claim and can supply supporting documentation, then either party can seek to have the works placed in dispute and the relevant shares suspended pending agreement. As per IMRO Rule 6, Board approval is required to place a work in dispute.
Writers should note…..
Published Works (i.e. works assigned to a publisher).
1) It is the responsibility of your publisher to register works you have assigned to that company. Published works should not be registered by the songwriter with certain exceptions. For example, a writer may wish to register works which are published abroad only or if there are works registration delays on the publisher’s side.
2) Writers who are under exclusive contract to a publisher should ensure that they advise their publisher of all new works as they are written to enable the publisher to register the works.
Unpublished Works (i.e. works not assigned to any publisher)
3) Should be registered with IMRO as soon as possible. Members can submit details of performance and recording activity online or when submitting the works to IMRO.
4) Each writer has a unique eleven digit CAE / IPI Number. This number should be entered in the appropriate field in order to correctly identify the writer. If you are co-writing with other IMRO members or members of affiliated societies, you should ensure that your co-writer’s CAE / IPI Number is also entered. If you are unsure of your CAE / Number, please contact IMRO Membership Services.
5) Members should not register their arrangements of copyright works as no share of royalties is allocated to an arranger in such cases. HOWEVER ARRANGEMENTS OF PUBLIC DOMAIN WORKS SHOULD BE REGISTERED.
6) If a composer has written incidental music for a non-musical play, the playwright’s name should not be shown in the author’s column. If songs have been written for the play, their individual titles and other details should be separately indicated, making it clear who wrote the words.
7) Specially commissioned works for a film, television or radio programme (or series) or any other audio-visual production should, wherever possible, be notified under the generic score title only (e.g. “Film X – Theme and Background Music”). It is not necessary to notify each individual cue employed in an audio-visual work, except where the nature of the cue differs substantially from the rest of the score (e.g. another interested party is involved, or the work is a commissioned song). If available, the producer’s music cue sheet for the production this should be sent directly to IMRO’s Distribution Team.
8) Performing shares must add up to exactly 100%. Mechanical shares must add up to exactly 100%.
9) In completing works registrations, members should indicate their preference for a US performing right society to collect royalties on their behalf; either ASCAP, BMI or SESAC. Where no choice is made by the member, the default choice is ASCAP.
Publishers should note…..
1) All contributors to the work must be identified on the works registration. CAE numbers should be entered in order to ensure the correct contributor is credited.
2) When notifying Co-Published works or ‘Split Copyrights’, you are not required to indicate contractual details of interests other than that part of the work you are notifying. However, all interested parties, (i.e. all the names of writers and publishers involved with the work) and applicable shares must be shown.
3) All forms should always be signed and dated – for publishers’ notifications the full name of the publisher and the capacity of the signatories should also be provided.
CAE Numbers
The names of all writer and publisher members are entered, by the Society to which they belong, onto an international membership database, known as the IPI. This generates a unique CAE number for each society member. To protect confidentiality where writers register a pseudonym or where publishers trade under a different company name, a separate CAE number is allocated. Therefore, members may have more than one CAE number. In order to ensure work contributors are correctly identified, we request members to quote their CAE number when registering works and agreement details. If you are unsure of your CAE number, please contact IMRO Membership Services.
IMPORTANT
When registering a work, whether by a publisher or writer/composer, the IMRO member is declaring their copyright ownership of that particular work. Therefore, it follows that in the event of a dispute regarding ownership of works, the legal obligation rests with the publisher or writer/composer to prove ownership.
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MUSO scans over 12+ billion webpages looking for your illegal content 24/7, providing total coverage working with over 1,000 cyberlockers, streaming P2P and search engines.
For more information contact muso@imro.ie
Online Protection (MUSO)
IMRO Partners With MUSO
To Offer Online Protection Solution Illegal downloading affects everyone; songwriters, publishers, artists, recording artists, audio engineers, computer technicians, record companies, producers and countless others. Even though downloading one song may not appear as a serious crime, the accumulative impact of millions of songs downloaded is having a devastating effect on the music industry. By downloading music illegally for free means that the creators and rights holders are not being paid. IMRO is delighted to partner with MUSO to offer you a solution to this problem.
What can you do to stop it?
With MUSO, your work can be protected. Their suite of solutions aim not only to deal quickly and efficiently with illegal content, but to go beyond the endless cycle of finding and removing files and help rights-holders re-connect to the audiences and revenues lost to illegal downloading and streaming. MUSO scans over 12+ billion webpages looking for your illegal content 24/7, providing total coverage working with over 1,000 cyberlockers, streaming P2P and search engines.
What are the types of illegal content; cyberlocker, streaming, torrent?
Illegal streaming
UnLicenced sites that allow you to find and listen for songs for free instantaneously.
Torrents
Torrents are a peer-to-peer (p2p) file sharing service that allows you to download content for free. Be in full compliance with copyright legislation. Why you need a Licence
Cyberlockers
Online storage sites used to host illegal content, that can then be downloaded to a user’s device. Be in full compliance with copyright legislation. Why you need a Licence
MUSO-IMRO Partnership
With MUSO, your work can be protected. Their suite of solutions aim not only to deal quickly and efficiently with illegal content, but to go beyond the endless cycle of finding and removing files and help rights-holders re-connect to the audiences and revenues lost to illegal downloading and streaming. MUSO scans over 12+ billion webpages looking for your illegal content 24/7, providing total coverage working with over 1,000 cyberlockers, streaming P2P and search engines.
Protect your work with MUSO
MUSO scans over 12+ billion webpages looking for your illegal content 24/7, providing total coverage working with over 1,000 cyberlockers, streaming P2P and search engines.
For more information contact muso@imro.ie
Trad Music
Introduction
The idea that copyright legislation and its enforcement interferes with or undermines the freedom of citizens to enjoy fully the fruits of a nation’s artistic tradition is false. Copyright conveys certain rights on creators in order to stimulate creativity. It is only given for a limited length of time and, particularly in the area of public performance, is also limited in the circumstances under which it arises. The almost universal duration of copyright extends to the lifetime of the creator and 70 years after death. Once this period has expired, all the creative input of a particular creator ceases to attract copyright protection and the public is then free to use the material as they see fit. Such material is described as being in the ‘public domain’.
Arrangement of Non-Copyright Music
Amongst the important rights granted under copyright legislation is the entitlement to prevent an adaptation of a copyright work. By virtue of this right, plagiarism, an unauthorised copying or imitation, is unlawful where the subject matter in question is copyrighted.
The prohibition ceases, however, upon the expiration of the term copyright. It will be seen that it is quite normal for such material to be used by creators as basis or foundation of further creativity. The most obvious example of this is the field of opera, where pre-existing literary works, the copyright of which has long expired, are adapted with musical accompaniment resulting in the creation of an entirely new copyright work. The plays of Shakespeare have not only been used in opera but also in films, West Side Story being a good example.
The works of the American composer, Stephen Foster, have been repeatedly used as a basis of new work, as indeed has the so called ‘Hillbilly’ music of the Appalachians in the southern part of the United States. That music originally emanated from England and Scotland and now forms the foundation of much of the so-called ‘Nashville sound’. In relation to traditional or folk music, almost all the great classical music masters have used this music in their compositions. Brahms, Dvorak, Beethoven, Delius and Vaughn-Williams are obvious examples where the indigenous music of a nation has been used in a new form of expression.
Legal Protection of Copyright Music
The vast majority of countries throughout the world have signed the Berne Convention, which is the single most important international agreement relating to the protection of copyright. Article 2, para. 3 of that Convention explicitly recognises the creative merit of arrangements of works that are no longer the subject of copyright control. In doing so, it permits an entirely new copyright to be created on the basis of the arrangement. This is not to say that the original work has changed its legal nature of being free of copyright control. At all times, a work, the copyright term of which has expired, remains uncontrolled in its original state. It is only if an arrangement of that work is made, introducing new originality, that the issue of copyright arises and only then in the arrangement. In fact it is quite common for several copyright arrangements of the same work or tune to exist.
The Legal Requirement of Copyright in Arrangements
Firstly, in order to qualify for copyright protection, the subject matter must be produced in some physical form. Originally, this was taken to mean in writing but now had been accepted as extending to the printed word, analogue, digital, audio and video performance. Copyright in a work does not come into existence simply by virtue of a performance. Secondly, for an arrangement of a non-copyright work to attract copyright protection it must fulfil the originality criterion. This criterion is determined in the event of a dispute by the courts by case law has indicated that a relatively low level of creative input or originality is sufficient to warrant copyright protection.
In the case of Irish traditional music, no copyright issues arise when the music performed is part of a body of work that has been passed down from the time that would clearly indicate that any responsible copyright term has expired, and usually the origins of the music are anonymous. Variation and ornamentation tend to be the distinguishing features of the contemporary performance of this music. Such embellishments, however, do not create a new copyright arrangement because they exist only in the performance and not, as previously indicated, in any tangible form, such as writing or a recording. In such situations, it is presumed that artistic considerations only arise if the embellishments referred to are repeated by a third party. However, should recordings be made of such performances a right is recognised in those versions of the performance.
Protect your work with MUSO
MUSO scans over 12+ billion webpages looking for your illegal content 24/7, providing total coverage working with over 1,000 cyberlockers, streaming P2P and search engines.
For more information contact muso@imro.ie