Copyright

What is copyright?
copyright gives control to creators of the way their material is used. these right start from the minute the material is recorded in writing or any other way  the rights cover, copying, adapting, distributing  communication to the public by electronic transmission, renting or lending copies to the public and performing in public.

copyright protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, published editions of works, sound recordings, films and broadcasts.

Ownership and length of copyright
The author is the first owner of copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work. in the case of films, the principal director and film producer are joint authors and first owners of copyright.
the length of copyright differs with the type of material.

copyright protection in the UK is automatic, so there is no registration system, there are no forms to fill in, and no fees to pay.

in literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (including a photograph) copyright lasts until seventy years after the death of the author. for films, copyright lasts for seventy years after the death of the last to survive of, the principal director, the authors of the screenplay and dialogue and the composer of any music specially created for the film.

Using copyright material 
like physical property, copyright material cannot be used without the consent of the owner. within the copyright owner rights they may decide not to give permission to use their work.

to get permission to copy or use copyright material, normally you must contact the copyright owner. however there are several organisations which act for groups of copyright owners in connection with particular rights and which may offer blanket licences to users.

A blanket license makes it possible for radio and television stations, DJs, musicians, and public businesses to play music without having to acquire rights each time they play a song. The blanket license makes the playing of music easy and convenient.

Permission is needed for mass copying of material. also an acknowledgment of the name of the copyright work and its author needs to be included.

Royalty Free Music
In a nutshell Royalty Free Music refers to a type of music licensing that allows the purchaser to pay for the music license only once and to use the music for as long as desired. For example you purchase a Royalty Free Music license for a video on your website. You pay one single price whether you have 100 visitors or 10,000 visitors, and whether you use the music for 1 month or 10 years.

Applying this to my promotional video

throughout my promotional video i have included the song 'When you walk into the Room' by The Searchers and 'Stop your Sobbing' by The Kinks; these will both require copyright permission. The client has informed me that some, if not all of the promotional video i am producing will be distributed with the Art Alert DVD. The DVD is being distributed in the Nuneaton Library, The Heritage Centre in both Nuneaton and Bedworth, The Fish Bowl Gallery and Corine is hoping to display it at George Eliot Hospital and the foyer of Sainsbury's. Because of this vast distribution the copyright permission for the music will be needed. 

I have spoken to the client about this and Mick has informs me that at this point the copyright isn't too important as the promotional video will not be seen just yet. Mick has also said when viewing my promotional video to leave the music as it is for now.