New York, NY. Among the various stories of interest to the audio community emerging from the Interactive Multimedia Association’s IMA Expo’96, which wraps up today in New York, perhaps the most unexpected is news of a decision regarding the copyright status of MIDI data files.
The MIDI Manufacturers Association, (MMA) announced that the U.S. Copyright Office has decided that MIDI files are subject to mechanical compulsory licenses when not accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work.
This is a controversial decision. According to the MMA, it clears the air around MIDI-file licensing, and allows MIDI to move into the mainstream consumer audio market. MMA expects the decision to prompt publishers to reduce the fees they charge for licensing MIDI recordings of musical works. At the same time, it will lead to increased numbers of published MIDI files, and greater overall revenues to publishers.
“MIDI technology can dramatically improve music education, games and Internet applications,” said Tom White, President of the MMA. “But until now, licensing for audio-only MIDI files has been difficult and expensive.”
In essence, the Copyright Office has said that MIDI files are audio recordings, for copyright purposes.
Speaking for the Copyright Office, principal legal advisor Charlotte Douglass said: “[we] consider the media upon which aural sequences are recorded (unaccompanied by visual images) to be phonorecords and that such media are subject to a mechanical license or compulsory license under Section 115. The output of Standard MIDI files are works of authorship copyrightable as sound recordings since the information in the file causes the sound device to render the pitch, timbre, speed, duration and volume of the musical notes in a certain order, as does a compact disc player in conjunction with a compact disc.”
“This opinion clarifies for everyone that MIDI files are no different from other forms of audio,” said Brian Ward, special counsel to the MMA. “This has been the critical missing link for explosive growth in consumer interactive audio applications.”
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