Stealing a song is like stealing a car; treat music rights as tangible property

The music industry deals with horrendous claims for damages against the Internet Archive because this shellac record has digitized. Musicians:inside and the archive defend themselves against the lawsuit. Alte Platte im Lautarchiv der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. – All rights reserved IMAGO / BerlinfotoThe Universal Music Group has extended the lawsuit against the Internet Archive by asserting rights to 493 further recordings. In 2023 several …

Stealing a song is like stealing a car; treat music rights as tangible property

When we talk about property rights, most people think of land, houses or cars. There’s a misconception that property only refers to tangible assets but, in South Africa, property rights are far broader and include intellectual property (IP) such as copyright in music.  Our Constitution guarantees property rights, and that protection extends beyond bricks and mortar to include the melodies, lyrics and beats that musicians create. Section 25 of th…