When songs are old or boring, young people tend to remix them to create a different version of the song. When remixed, the songs will have better sound quality, and impress the audience more. Young individuals always have a crush on something unique and new, so remix songs always attract and appeal to many young people today and are also suitable for the market and current music trends. However, can such remix songs be copyrighted? Please follow VCD’s article below for more details.
1. What is remix music?
The Remix music genre is certainly no stranger to today’s youth because of its vibrant, joyful, and bustling melodies that are completely different from traditional music genres such as Pop, Ballad, Bolero, …
To put it simply, remix music is music that is re-arranged or remade from the original music to suit the artist’s purpose, creating a new, more perfect version. This term appears in music and is used in film, literature, poetry, video, photography, etc. People often edit speed, rhythm, intensity, and pitch when remixing, balance, timing of the music, and many other factors to create a catchy, vibrant melody suitable for the audience’s tastes.
Additionally, the track can rework most musical elements, depending on the remixer. That’s why artists always create countless different remixes, each song has a different way of feeling for each person.
Instead of the audience listening to the same original song over and over again, no matter how popular that song is, it must seem boring and no longer as exciting as at first. Right now, the remixer will remix the original song, refreshing the song, creating curiosity, and increasing emotions for the listener.
2. Is remix music a derivative work?
Remix music is considered a derivative work of the original song. According to Clause 8, Article 4 of the Intellectual Property Law, a derivative work “is a work created based on one or more existing works through translation from one language to another, adaptation, compilation, annotations, selections, arrangements, musical adaptations, and other adaptations”.
A remix song is a “derivative” work from the original song if it satisfies the following signs:
- Formed based on inheritance from an existing work;
- Derivative works are not copies of the original work: copyright law does not protect the content of an idea, but only the form of expression of the idea. Therefore in many cases, the form of expression of the derivative work must be completely or partially different from the form of expression of the original work;
- There is creativity: the creativity of a remix song is shown in the selection, arrangement of rhythm, and addition of new sound effects to express the song’s content as in the original work; Remix music is directly created by the author using his or her intellectual labor without copying from others;
- Imprint of the original work in derivative works: even if the derivative work is created, it must still have the imprint of the original work. This means that when recognizing a derivative work, the public must associate it with the original work. This association is expressed through the lyrics, melody, etc. of the original song.
Authors of derivative works are only protected for original content created by them, and derivative works are only protected if they do not prejudice the copyright of the work used for derivative purposes. The creation, exploitation, and use of derivative works must be authorized by the owner of the original work.
Therefore, to the question of whether remix music is a derivative work, the answer here is yes, provided that it meets the signs of a derivative work as presented above.
3. Can remix music be copyrighted?
Remix music is protected by copyright as a derivative work when it meets the following four conditions:
- Without prejudice to the copyright of the original work: According to Clause 2, Article 14 of the Intellectual Property Law, derivative works are only protected if they do not prejudice the copyright of the work used to make derivative works.
- Must be directly created by the author of the derivative work: Clause 3, Article 14 of the Intellectual Property Law stipulates that protected derivative works must be directly created by the author using his or her intellectual labor without any damage copy from other people’s work.
- With permission from the author, the copyright owner of the original work: Article 28 of the Intellectual Property Law stipulates that derivative works must have the permission of the author, the copyright owner of the original work. In the absence of the author’s consent, the copyright owner will be considered an act of copyright infringement (Unless the derivative work falls into the cases in Article 25 and Article 26 of the Intellectual Property Law). wisdom).
- Must have the unique stamp of the author of the derivative work: Derivative works are works created based on the original work. Therefore, for a derivative work to be protected, it must be creative, new, and bear the stamp of the author who created the derivative work.
Therefore, remix music works must meet the above conditions to be registered for copyright protection.
Above is the article “Can remix music be copyrighted and registered?”. We hope this article is useful to you.
