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Mechanical license

 

 
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Mechanical license
 
 
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A mechanical license is a (often required) license that grants certain limited permissions to work with, study, improve upon, reinterpret, re-record (etc.) something that is neither a free
Free content

Free content, or free information, is any kind of functional work, Work of art, or other creative Content having no significant legal restriction relative to people's freedom to use, redistribute, and produce modified versions of and works derived from the content....
/open source
Open source

Open source is an approach to design, development, and distribution offering practical accessibility to a product's source . Some consider open source as one of various possible design approaches, while others consider it a critical Strategy element of their business operations....
 item nor in the public domain
Public domain

File:PD-icon.svgThe public domain is a range of abstract materials?commonly referred to as intellectual property?which are not owned or controlled by anyone....
.

Within the music industry, a mechanical licence gives the holder permission to create copies of a recorded song
Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical or mechanics inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects....
 which they did not write and/or do not have copyright
Copyright

Copyright is a form of intellectual property which gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights for a certain time period in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation; after which time the work is said to enter the public domain....
 over. It is an agreement with the copyright holder, the publisher, or the songwriter
Songwriter

File:Beethoven.jpgA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer....
 that allows the holder to reproduce the sound recording.

Copyright law also allows for a "compulsory mechanical license
Compulsory license

In a compulsory license, a government forces the holder of a patent, copyright, or other exclusive right to grant use to the state or others. Usually, the holder does receive some royalties, either set by law or determined through some form of arbitration....
" where permission from the original author is not required.






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A mechanical license is a (often required) license that grants certain limited permissions to work with, study, improve upon, reinterpret, re-record (etc.) something that is neither a free
Free content

Free content, or free information, is any kind of functional work, Work of art, or other creative Content having no significant legal restriction relative to people's freedom to use, redistribute, and produce modified versions of and works derived from the content....
/open source
Open source

Open source is an approach to design, development, and distribution offering practical accessibility to a product's source . Some consider open source as one of various possible design approaches, while others consider it a critical Strategy element of their business operations....
 item nor in the public domain
Public domain

File:PD-icon.svgThe public domain is a range of abstract materials?commonly referred to as intellectual property?which are not owned or controlled by anyone....
.

Within the music industry, a mechanical licence gives the holder permission to create copies of a recorded song
Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical or mechanics inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects....
 which they did not write and/or do not have copyright
Copyright

Copyright is a form of intellectual property which gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights for a certain time period in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation; after which time the work is said to enter the public domain....
 over. It is an agreement with the copyright holder, the publisher, or the songwriter
Songwriter

File:Beethoven.jpgA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer....
 that allows the holder to reproduce the sound recording.

Copyright law also allows for a "compulsory mechanical license
Compulsory license

In a compulsory license, a government forces the holder of a patent, copyright, or other exclusive right to grant use to the state or others. Usually, the holder does receive some royalties, either set by law or determined through some form of arbitration....
" where permission from the original author is not required. In the United States of America, most mechanical licenses are negotiated through the Harry Fox Agency
Harry Fox Agency

The Harry Fox Agency is the United States of America's largest agency collecting and distributing mechanical license fees on behalf of Music publisher s....
. A mechanical license can only be used after the original copyright holder has exercised their exclusive right of first publishing, or permission is negotiated.

In American law, US Code Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 115(a)(2) states: "A compulsory license includes the privilege of making a musical arrangement of the work to the extent necessary to conform it to the style or manner of interpretation of the performance involved, but the arrangement shall not change the basic melody or fundamental character of the work ..." thus preventing mechanical licenses being used to make substantially derivative works of a piece of music.

This license is often used for the purpose of self-promotion. For instance a cellist who played on a recorded piece may obtain a mechanical license in order to distribute copies of the song to others as an example of his cello playing. This is also used by recording artists performing cover versions of songs and artists who do not typically write their own songs, as is typical in Country
Country music

Country music is a blend of popular American music forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. It has roots in Traditional music, Celtic music, gospel music, and old-time music and evolved rapidly in the 1920s....
 and Pop
Popular music

Popular music is music that is accessible to the mainstream and disseminated by one or more of the mass media. It belongs to any of a number of musical genres, and stands in contrast to classical music, which historically was the music of the elite and upper strata of society, and traditional music which was disseminated orally....
 music. In the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, this is required by copyright law regardless whether or not the copies are for commercial sale.

A mechanical license is not generally required for an artist who is recording and distributing their own work.

In October, 2006 the Register of Copyright
United States Copyright Office

The United States Copyright Office, a part of the Library of Congress, is the official U.S. government body that maintains records of copyright registration in the United States....
 ruled that ring tones
Ring tone

A ringtone or ring tone is the sound made by a mobile phone to indicate an incoming call or text message. The term is a misnomer, as it is often used to refer to any ring sound, almost all of which are not Pure_tones....
 are subject to compulsory licensing.

See also

  • Copyright
    Copyright

    Copyright is a form of intellectual property which gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights for a certain time period in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation; after which time the work is said to enter the public domain....
  • Compulsory license
    Compulsory license

    In a compulsory license, a government forces the holder of a patent, copyright, or other exclusive right to grant use to the state or others. Usually, the holder does receive some royalties, either set by law or determined through some form of arbitration....