Intellectual property is uniquely human. Our ability to think and create has shaped our entire history. But the right to make money from your music may be younger than you think.
/ 30/06/2020 / Kristian DugstadWhen Johannes Gutenberg converted an old grape press into the first printing press in the mid-1400th century, modern printing press, he revolutionized the art of printing. For the first time in history, it was possible to print relatively quickly and cheaply mass produce writing.
This was an important step towards a world where the printed word was no longer reserved for princes and clergy; a technological advance that has shaped all social development since.
Gutenberg's printing press also marks an important turning point for you as a songwriter or lyricist.
In the past, copying a book was extremely expensive and laborious. It therefore made little sense to steal someone else's work to make money selling copies. This changed with the printing press.
As book production accelerated, and Europe entered the Age of Enlightenment, a need also emerged to protect those who created the texts – the protection of intellectual property.
This was the germ of the copyright that protects your music today, and on which TONO is built.
It would take several hundred years after the renaissance of printing for copyright to take on the form we know today, but the spark was ignited by the printing press: the technology that made it possible to reproduce an intellectual work.
– The need for legal regulation is very technology-dependent. New inventions come along and provide opportunities. This also creates a basis for new legislation, says Svein Korshamn, lawyer and deputy director at TONO.
In his office at Tøyenbekken 21, he has found history and textbooks in copyright. They draw lines all the way back to the poets of ancient Greece, but the first copyright law only came into being in Great Britain in 1709.
Art and music are ancient forms of expression, but even though intellectual works have been created for thousands of years, the history of copyright is, relatively speaking, short.
“Over the course of the 1800th century, more and more copyright legislation was introduced. More and more forms of expression were legally protected both internationally and in Norway, and in 1886 the Berne Convention was adopted,” says Korshamn.
The Convention is an international agreement on the protection of copyright in literary and artistic works. In 1896, Norway joined the Berne Union, which is administered by the UN organization WIPO.
With that, we committed ourselves to protecting all artistic works from a Union country in line with our own national laws.
With international obligations to protect copyright, Norwegian law also developed and became stronger in its protection of intellectual property.
– The Norwegian Composers' Association was founded in 1917, to protect and collect money for the use of its members' music. This resulted in the establishment of TONO, just over ten years later, in 1928. It wasn't a lot of money to begin with. In 1918, the Norwegian Composers' Association had a total income of 67 kroner, says Korshamn.
One hundred years later, in 2019, TONO's total revenue, by comparison, was NOK 771,029,047. A clear testament to the important battles that have been fought for legal protection of intellectual property.
However, these struggles never end. Just as with Gutenberg's printing press, technological developments and new inventions change our consumption of art and culture, revealing ever new needs for protection.
Digitization, the internet and music streaming have once again radically changed the world of music. As recently as 2018, Norwegian cultural organizations and artists fought a hard battle to establish sufficient protection in the new Intellectual Property Rights Act.
Fortunately, we succeed in this.
Enough history. What does all this really mean for you today? What protection do you have?
If you create an intellectual work, you own the copyright to it. the work, and is the author.
An intellectual work can be so many things. All types of texts, lectures, plays, films, photos, paintings, architecture, computer programs and sculptures. The type of intellectual work TONO works with is musical workMusic of all kinds, and all types of texts to which music is set.
You, and only you, can produce copies og make your intellectual property available to the public.
You have this right for your entire life, and your heirs take over until 70 years after your death..
Translated from legal to everyday language, this means that you, and only you, can give permission for someone to play your music live, record your music in a studio, play your music on the radio, put your music on Spotify, print your lyrics in a book, etc. It also means that you can decide how much you should be paid for it.
This is easier said than done in practice. TONO exists for you who create musical works, to help you with precisely this management. As a member, you actually leave the entire job to TONO. We grant the permission for you, and ensure that you receive the money.
As a songwriter, it can feel like you're putting pieces of your soul on display every time you release new music. A song is extremely personal, but at the same time something that begs to be heard by an audience.
Some pieces of music can also shape the identity of an entire generation, unite a nation or an entire global community. It is natural to be both eager and nervous about sharing your creations with the public.
Then it is a security to know that your intellectual property is protected, nationally and internationally, completely automatically.
You don't need copyright symbols or patent registration. In fact, your copyright is protected through a wide range of laws and agreements.
– In other words, you don't need to do anything for your work to be protected. However, that doesn't mean that it's not a good idea to have a recording or a written version just in case, says Deputy Director of TONO, Svein Korshamn.
Also remember that you must register your song on Mitt TONO as soon as possible, to ensure that you get paid when it is used.
