World IP Day 2025 – Intellectual property and music: Feel the beat of IP

Saturday 26 April is World Intellectual Property Day.

The theme for this year is intellectual property and music. The Cayman Islands has a vibrant music scene full of talented musicians, singers, songwriters and DJs and its own non-profit Cayman Music and Entertainment Association (CMEA). In celebration of World IP Day's musical theme this year, Ogier's Intellectual Property (IP) partner Sophie Peat shines a spotlight on of some of the key protections available under IP laws in the Cayman Islands and readily available to those in the music industry.

The copyright symbol ©

Part I of the UK's Copyright Act 1988 was extended to the Cayman Islands with some variations in 2016 and offers the automatic protection (without registration) of copyright works (including, for example, original song lyrics and musical works, sound recordings and films, among others) upon recordal in writing or otherwise. Copyright protection is free of charge in the Cayman Islands and, as a member of the Berne Convention, reciprocal rights can be enjoyed in all member countries.

It is advisable to mark copyright works with the copyright symbol © and the year of creation, as well as storing the original safely in case it is ever needed for enforcement purposes. While marking the work with the copyright  symbol does not affect the degree of protection bestowed upon the author, it is a good deterrent against any unauthorized copying as it puts third parties on notice that you are aware of your rights.

Filing a trademark

Whilst the copyright law protects a wide range of literary works, musicians should be aware that copyright protection does not typically extend to the name of a band or a title of a song or album. Neither does it extend to your "idea" for a new song, album or music video. In order to ensure your name is protected you will need to file a trade mark.

Trade marks are protected in relation to goods and / or services. Quite often artists earn revenue not only from their music but also in respect of related merchandise in the form of fashion and consumer goods. Music may be used for a video game or in a film. Therefore, it is important to cover all aspects of your business when seeking trade mark protection and not just your core entertainment services. This helps build brand equity, which may be just as valuable as your music. Trademarking your band or artist name increases your opportunity to engage in licensing, sponsorship and collaborations with other brands thereby increasing your revenue streams.

If you are a band wishing to file a new trade mark you will also need to consider whether it should be owned jointly between all members, by one member alone or by a joint venture company. Joint ownership can lead to difficulties later on, for example if a band member leaves the band and does not agree to transfer their share of the trade mark to the remaining band members. Bands considering joint ownership of trademarks should ensure a carefully drafted agreement is prepared to ensure all band members agree on and understand how the trade mark should be used as well as cover any changes in circumstances that may arise. 

Who owns your copyright?

Musicians should also ensure they understand who owns their copyright, especially since it is the owner of the copyright work that can decide how it is commercialized and enforced. Typically, the author of the work is the first owner of copyright therein. Therefore, the lyrics of a song would be owned by the songwriter, a musical composition would be owned by the composer, and so on. Sound recordings are owned by the producer of the sound recording, which usually is the record company that paid for the recording to be made.

However, where a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or a film is made by an employee in the course of their employment, the employer is first owner of copyright, unless the parties have contractually agreed to an alternative. There may also be cases where musical works are created by the collaboration of two or more authors, in which the contribution of each author is not distinct from the other (for example, two or more songwriters may write the lyrics to a song). Depending on the circumstances, the parties may thereby own the copyright as "joint authors".

Before embarking on a musical collaboration, it is a good idea to form a written contract as to the intended ownership of the copyright work from the outset as well as document the contributions of each party during the creation process in order to limit the possibility as to any future dispute.  Furthermore, works of joint authorship should not be confused with works of "co-authorship", which are defined as works comprised of separate elements (for example, where one person writes the lyrics to a song and another writes the music). 

How long does your copyright last?

While copyright protection is free, copyrights are not protected in perpetuity. Different categories of copyright works have varying lifespans. Song lyrics and musical compositions are protected for 70 years after the end of the year of the author's death, whereas sound and music recordings are protected until either the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the recording is made or  if during that period the recording is published, 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is first published. 

What are your rights and how can they be infringed?

As a copyright owner, your key rights under copyright law include the right to: 

• make copies of the work

• issue copies of the work to the public

• rent or lend the work to the public

• perform, show or play the work in public

• communicate the work to the public

• make an adaptation of the work or do any of the above in relation to an adaptation

Copyright is infringed by anyone who carries out any of the copyright owner's exclusive rights without the permission of the copyright owner, unless an exception applies. Bear in mind that infringement can be in relation to the whole or a substantial part of the work. "Substantial" is determined by a qualitative test, not a quantitative one, which means that there may be an infringement even if a small, but important, portion of the original work is copied. Therefore, musicians should take care to ensure they have all of the appropriate permissions when looking to "sample" the music of a third party in their own music.

In addition, an individual or corporate entity may commit a secondary infringement of copyright if, among other things, they import into the Cayman Islands, possess, sell or distribute an article which they know or have reason to believe is an infringing copy.

How do copyright holders license their rights?

The best way for songwriters, composers and music publishers to license the rights to their music in return for licence fees or royalties is to sign up with a licensing body such as a collection society, being a non-profit organisation that licenses copyright works, monitors their usage (when broadcast on the television or played on the radio, for example) and collects and distributes royalties to copyright owners.

The UK based collection society, PRS (Performing Rights Society), administered copyright works for the Cayman Islands up until the end of 2022 when Jamaica-based JACAP (The Jamaican Association of Authors, Composers and Publishers Ltd.) agreed to take over the reins on the basis that given their proximity to the Cayman Islands, they would be able to more closely monitor the use of musical works locally and engage in active licensing. However, before JACAP can be truly effective in the Cayman Islands there is an educational piece to be done to ensure that both creators and music users sign-up and comply with the legislation. 

In many countries, performers of music also have a right to compensation / royalties when recordings of their music are played. The rights to the recordings are usually owned by the record company or producer of the recording who then pays a percentage to the performers (vocalists and / or instrumentalists). However, performance rights (or neighboring  rights as they are referred to in other countries) are not currently recognized in the Cayman Islands. Part II of the UK's Copyright Act needs to be extended to the Cayman Islands to fill this gap.

Authors of copyright works in the Cayman Islands also have another set of "free" rights, in the form of moral rights (also extended under the copyright legislation), which protect the non-economic interests of a creator or artist. They are a set of legal obligations which require the attribution of copyright works to their creators and the treatment of their works with respect. They cannot be assigned or sold to third parties. There are of course certain exceptions to the scope of moral rights, but generally speaking they are as follows:

• Right to be identified as author or director – this right must be asserted in a specific manner as outlined by the legislation. Authors have the right to be identified whenever their copyright work is published commercially, performed in public or communicated to the public or copies of a film or sound recording including the work are issued to the public.

• Right to object to derogatory treatment of work - The author of a copyright literary, dramatic or musical work, and the director of a copyright film, has the right not to have their work subjected to derogatory treatment. “Treatment” of a work means any addition to, deletion from or alteration to or adaptation of the work, other than for a translation of a literary or dramatic work. The treatment of a work is derogatory if it amounts to distortion or mutilation of the work or is otherwise prejudicial to the honor or reputation of the author or director.

• False attribution - The author of a copyright literary, dramatic or musical work has the right not to have a literary, dramatic or musical work falsely attributed to him /  her as author, and not to have a film falsely attributed to him / her as director. An “attribution”, in relation to such a work, means a statement (express or implied) as to who is the author or director.

How Ogier can help

Ogier’s Intellectual Property team acts across the full spectrum of intellectual property rights, including brands and trade marks, copyright, industrial designs and patents, specialising in multi-jurisdictional intellectual property clearance, prosecution, exploitation and enforcement. If you are a musician and would like more guidance on how to protect your intellectual property, Sophie would be pleased to help you.

About Ogier

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Disclaimer

This client briefing has been prepared for clients and professional associates of Ogier. The information and expressions of opinion which it contains are not intended to be a comprehensive study or to provide legal advice and should not be treated as a substitute for specific advice concerning individual situations.

Regulatory information can be found under Legal Notice