A PERFORMER HAS A COPYRIGHT OR A PERFORMER'S RIGHT ONLY?

Darling Darling: At the heart of a landmark case (Dev Anand vs Fortune Films) on performers’ rights in India

- By Chanakya Jayadeva

Firstly, we need to understand who a performer is; a performer is someone like a singer, actor, dancer, or musician.

The performer has a performance right over their performance, but do they have a copyright? Performers eternally dabble with the question and want a copyright over their performance. In this regard, it is important to note how it breaks down when it comes to copyright and performers’ rights.

Copyright is owned by the author or creator of a work. For example, someone who would compose a song or the playwright of a play or a screen play for a film or a lyrics writer or a book writer, etc. On the other hand, performers’ right, which are also called neighbouring rights or related rights, is a special right granted to performers in relation to their performance. This right is not a copyright, but they are related to it and protected for the performance they did

Performers’ rights typically include the following three:

1. Control over the recording and broadcast of the performance.

2. Consent requirement for use of their performance in recordings broadcast to the public.

3. Moral rights in some countries.

An ideal example would be if a singer performs a song written by someone else, the songwriter owns the copyright of the lyrics, the music composer owns the music composition, and the Singer owns the performer’s rights in the specific performance, such as a Radio/TV show, a studio recording or a concert.

Most jurisdictions that have subscribed to the Rome Convention of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Performer has the following exclusive rights, to:

Authorise or prohibit the recording of the live performance.

Authorise the broadcast of communication to the public of their live performance.

Receive remuneration from certain uses of their recorded performance, such as on radio or television, or streaming.