Q: I plan to open an electronics/video game retail store in Winnipeg, Canada. Can you please clarify for me where the law is broken if I play a music CD in the store to entertain the customers when they shop or set up a video game competition in the store where customers can register for a fee and then compete to win a prize?

Answer:

Your question covers several areas that are covered below:

Public Performance

In the United States, Section 106 of the Copyright Act gives the copyright owners of work the exclusive right to public performance of their work. Playing a CD outside of a private listening context is a public performance. Therefore, buying a CD does not give you the permission to play the CD in a public performance, and you must get licensing rights to do so. There are exceptions to the public performance requirements, so be sure to have your attorney help you evaluate your situation. However, a public performance in a retail store typically does not fall under any exception. As you are in Canada, you should also check with regard to laws for any music you play where Canadian entities or persons own the copyrights.

Copyrights in Songs

In theory, three different creators (or more) could be contributors to a song. There could be more than one writer of the song's score, more than one writer of the song's lyrics, and additional people who perform the song. Each of these rights may be owned by different parties who you would pay royalties to for use of the work. When you hear a song like the Ataris' remake of Don Henley and Mike Campbell's song "Boys of Summer" on the radio, you can assume that they obtained permission from the copyright owners for the rights to the score and lyrics. They would not have needed permission to use Don Henley's performance rights because they performed the song and did not include any of his performance. In most cases, the record label owns the rights to popular music, although there are exceptions.

Collective Licensing

In order to facilitate payment of royalties, there are two entities--the American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP, www.ascap.org) and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI, www.bmi.com)—which handle most of the licensing of popular music for public performances. You should get it touch with one or both of these organizations and inquire about their licenses for your desired use of music. You will pay them one fee for your license, and they'll distribute royalties to the artists and other copyright owners of the music.

Contests

What you are describing for your in-store competition sounds like a contest. You can read more information about this from last month's column—and be sure to check the contest regulations in Manitoba as well.

All answers are general in nature, not legal advice and not warranted or guaranteed. Readers are cautioned not to rely on this information. Because laws change over time and in different jurisdictions, it is imperative that you consult an attorney in your area regarding legal matters and an accountant regarding tax matters.

All answers are general in nature, not legal advice and not warranted or guaranteed. Readers are cautioned not to rely on this information. Because laws change over time and in different jurisdictions, it is imperative that you consult an attorney in your area regarding legal matters and an accountant regarding tax matters.

1 Readers are cautioned not to rely on this article as legal advice as it is
no substitution for a consultation with an attorney and an accountant in your state. Based
on jurisdiction and time, the law varies and changes.