Sound recording copyright symbol
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The phonorecord symbol, represented by the graphic symbol ℗ (a circled P), is analogous to the copyright symbol (©), but is used to provide notice of copyright in a sound recording. It is placed on a phonorecord (LPs, audiotapes, cassettes, compact discs, etc.) embodying that sound recording. The use of the symbol originated in United States copyright law[1] and is specified internationally in the Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms.[2]
The P stands for phonorecord, the legal term used in most English-speaking countries to refer to the media in which "sound recordings" are embodied.[3] Sound recordings are subject to copyright protection that is different from other types of works. A sound recording has a separate copyright that is distinct from that of the underlying work (usually a musical work, expressible in musical notation and written lyrics), if any. The sound recording copyright is a copyright in the recorded sound itself, and will not apply to any other rendition or version, even if performed by the same artist(s).
The sound recording copyright notice affixed to phonographs consists of three elements:
- the ℗ symbol;
- the year of first publication of the sound recording; and
- an identification of the owner of the copyright, either by name, abbreviation or other designation by which it is generally known. The identification can be omitted if the owner is the sound recording's producer, and the producer is identified on associated packaging.[1]
The symbol in Unicode is U+2117 ℗ SOUND RECORDING COPYRIGHT (℗).[4]
It closely resembles U+24C5 Ⓟ CIRCLED LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P and U+24DF ⓟ CIRCLED LATIN SMALL LETTER P[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b Act of Oct. 15, 1971, Pub. L. No. 92-140, 85 Stat. 391, § 1(c), now codified at 17 U.S.C. § 402
- ^ Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms, done at Geneva, October 19, 1971, Article 5
- ^ Statement of Marybeth Peters, United States Register of Copyrights, before the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, Committee on the Judiciary (July 31, 2007)
- ^ http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2100.pdf
- ^ http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2460.pdf
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