Making parody music has long been acknowledged and accepted by the general public through comedic skits and entertaining music videos. This parody exists in social life as a sort of folklore, similar to a joke, mostly oral tradition, that amuses people. However, is music composed of words and shared on social networking sites considered copyright infringement?
1. What are the parody music and the trend of making parody music?
Parody music is songs that have had their lyrics partially or completely rewritten on the music (melody) of the original works.
Parody music and the trend of making parody music have appeared for a long time, not only on social networks but also on television. Parody music is often used as highlights and laughing points in comedy skits on television and is also often used as a form of entertainment to attract viewers, creating laughter for the community. Many people enjoy funny parody music, and it quickly travels throughout the internet, generating a movement, and there are groups of people that specialize in creating and producing popular music videos. In particular, there are parody songs that become more popular and famous than original musical works.
In addition, parody music videos are spread, with many viewers bringing significant benefits to music makers, but the author does not receive the corresponding royalty. According to YouTube’s regulation, if the channel has 10,000 subscribers or more, the channel owner will get paid 2-3 USD (in the US or Europe) for every 1,000 views, or 0.3 – 0.5 USD (in Vietnam). Not only that, but channel owners also profit from advertising through affiliate marketing, and inserting links to products and services of a company on their videos or channel descriptions or can directly sign advertising contracts with businesses to introduce their product in videos.
Most people believe that parody music is just a commodity that provides entertainment and pleasure; nevertheless, various difficulties concerning copyright must be addressed.
2. Does making parody music infringe copyright?
A musical work is a type of work protected by copyright (specified at Point C, Clause 1, Article 14 of the Law on Intellectual Property). Therefore, one of the moral rights of the author of a musical work is to protect the integrity of the work from being misrepresented by others; not to allow others to modify or mutilate the work in any way that harms the honor and reputation of the author (Article 19, Clause 4 of the Law on Intellectual Property). Thus, modifying, altering lyrics, and creating parody musical works without the permission of the author or copyright owner is an infringement of the right to protect the integrity of the work.
According to the provisions of Article 10 of Decree 31/2013/ND-CP Stipulating sanctions for administrative violations of copyright and related rights, acts of infringement of the right to protect the integrity of works may be administratively sanctioned as follows:
“1. A fine ranging from VND 3,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for the act of arbitrarily repairing or mutilating a work that harms the honor and reputation of the author.
2. A fine ranging from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for the act of misrepresenting the work to the detriment of the honor and reputation of the author.
3. Remedies:
a/ To forcibly rectify publicly on the mass media false information for acts specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article;
b/ To forcibly remove copies of infringing works in electronic form, in the network environment and digitally or forcibly destroy infringing exhibits for acts specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article. “
On the other hand, making new lyrics for a musical work is the act of making a derivative work. The right to make derivative works is also one of the property rights of authors and copyright owners (Article 20, Clause 1, Point A of the Law on Intellectual Property).
Therefore, when making music, making repairs, or writing new lyrics for musical works, the performer must obtain the written consent of the author, obtain the permission of the copyright owner, and pay royalties and other material benefits (if any) to the author and the copyright owner (Article 20 Clause 2 of the Law on Intellectual Property Tue).
Thus, any act of correcting or rewriting lyrics to make parody music is an infringement of copyright without the permission of the author and copyright owner. If there is a need to rewrite the lyrics, organizations, and individuals should contact the author and copyright owner to ask for permission and pay a commensurate royalty and remuneration to them.
Here is the article “Does making parody music infringe on copyright? “. We hope this article was helpful to you.
