Question

What are the different types of intellectual property rights and how does it pertain to the following scenarios?

You have a friend that owns a restaurant. In order to keep enhance her customers dining experience, she plays music in her establishment. According to copyright law, what is the difference (if any) among the following scenarios?

a. The music is from a radio tuned to a popular station.

b. The music is from a custom playlist that your friend put together from songs she has paid for (either by downloading them online or purchasing the CD).

c. A customer asks if he can buy a copy of the songs played at the restaurant so he can listen to them at home.

d. Would it make a difference if the customer then played the songs at his own restaurant?

Answer 1

Solution

One has to apply for an intellectual property right (IPR) in order to protect his / her idea from being copied / stolen by others.

Intellectual property rights are classified into 4 types - a.Trade Secrets b.Trade marks ; c.Copyrights d.Patents

Individuals / firms can apply for one (or) more among these 4 available kinds of IPR's

(a) The music is from a radio tuned to a popular station - In this case,there is no copyright inringement. According to the copyright law,any business will be exempt from paying the royalties in order to use the content when they use one consumer type audio (or) video player.But the businesses utilizing this benefit cannot charge the admission fee as they themselves are enjoying the content for free without paying any royalty.For businesses operating in area greater than 2000 sft,they are some other criteria like they cannot have more than 6 speakers in total(or)more than 4 speakers in each room

(b).It is a case of Copyright infringement since the person has paid for the content (here,music) for his/her personal use.So,he/she cannot play it in their business in-front of all.

(c).It is also a case of Copyright infringement since the content is free for the business only and they do not have any right to pass on the right on that content to other people.So,a customer cannot copy / take the music from the restaurant owner.

(d).A customer cannot buy the songs from the restaurant owner but definitely he/she can play them in their restaurant just as they are playing.

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