- Small businesses and restaurants conforming to limitations on the number of loud-
speakers and TV screen sizes
Copyright infringement is mostly a civil issue. In other words, if someone infringes
on or violates your copyright, you can sue them. However, there are instances where
copyright infringement can be deemed a criminal infringement.
Beginning with the Berne Convention in 1886, efforts have been made to harmonize
copyright laws on the international level. However, copyrights remain largely a territorial
protection. Each country’s laws apply within its borders, but many seek to allow some
flexibility to address minimum international standards.
Copyrights are potentially very valuable assets. Here’s a well-known case in point. In
1985, Michael Jackson bought ATV Music Publishing. ATV owned the rights to roughly
200 songs written by the Beatles’ John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Jackson paid $47.5
million for ATV and the Beatles song rights. In her article, Michael Jackson and the Bea-
tles Copyrights, Renee C. Quinn writes, “Few people know that Michael Jackson outbid
even Paul McCartney himself as well as John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, to own the
coveted copyrights to the Beatles’ music. By owning the copyrights to these timeless
songs, Michael earned royalties every time Beatles songs were either played on the radio
or performed or sold in stores. While so many are star-struck by musicians and perform-
ers, the reality is that the money is in owning the copyrights. Most musicians will never
get to the point where they can own their own copyrights free and clear. Record compa-
nies lock musicians and performers up in tight, multi-album deals where the ownership of
the publishing rights resides with the record label. Only when a musician, band or per-