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“I have an old tape of a famous band…” the enquiry that recently came into duly noted^® Towers went, “…a demo tape.  This was made before they got signed up.  Half of the songs on this demo they’ve since released on CDs etc.  But what about the other songs?  How would I find out if these have been copyrighted?  Can you help in this regard?” 

Now I can’t say for sure what this enquirer’s intentions might have been for that demo tape, but I could guess, and having read the query above, you too may have an idea, what they might have been thinking: 

A chance to make to make some easy dosh. 

The gist of my answer was this; I suggested that the band’s songs, though they may not have made it onto the CDs for which they’ve become known, nonetheless are copyrighted to the band and that copyright still resides with them.  You see, in a nutshell, under the Copyright Designs & Patents Act 1988, copyright protection is automatic and immediate, as long as the creator of the work puts them down in a tangible form, and the work is original.  Copyright lasts the life of the creator/author, and – in the case of tracks composed by them – seventy years after they die.  So if those songs were written by the band members – even if they’re covers of another artist’s work – they’re copyrighted.   

I went on to say that this means the demo tape the enquirer possessed was I imagine produced solely for countless A&R reps at record labels the world over, and not for sale or distribution.  So any attempt to copy, sell or distribute it will infringe the band’s rights. 

Of course, such activity goes on, we all know that.  But in an attempt to steer the enquirer away from any thoughts of infringing copyright, I went on to explain there are some people in the world who make money from bootlegs of successful bands gigging, their demos etc.  And if these people are not licensed by the band or their label to be selling or distributing these recordings (heck, they wouldn’t be called bootlegs if they were), then they are doing so against the law.  They are, as I said, infringing the band’s copyright. 

And if the band or the industry in question finds out, things can turn litigious really quickly. 

And they do. 

You may have heard of this in the news, but if not, only this week just such a case turned up on the BBC news website: “Man admits Led Zep bootleg charge”.  The gist of the report is that Jimmy Page, lead guitarist of gods-of-rock band Led Zeppelin, turned up in a Glasgow court to himself confirm that bootleg materials shown him in court and seized from one Robert Langley of Buckinghamshire had not been licensed or otherwise authorised for production, sale or distribution by the band.  Page had been asked to go up to Glasgow to give evidence by the British Phonographic Industry, which among other things exists to help protect rights holders’ copyright.  Langley, who was caught at a record fair in Glasgow in 2005 (he also was discovered to be in possession of Rolling Stones and Beatles bootleg material), has since admitted to charges of bootlegging and will be sentenced next month. 

Why go to such trouble?  Because the bootlegging industry is lucrative.  Langley alone – just one man – possessed counterfeit material worth thousands and thousands of pounds.  No wonder the BPI is so concerned about the loss of revenues to pirates, which I’ve previously reported is staggering.  No wonder they zealously pursue into court anyone they catch.  And as the above example demonstrates, bootleggers are caught. 

My advice to the enquirer, in fact to anyone fortunate enough to possess a demo tape of a band’s songs before they made it big, was this; just keep the fact you possess it between you and your stereo.  Enjoy.  And leave it at that. 

© 2007 Julian Boote  All Rights reserved.

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