There has been increasing talk recently concerning H.R. 3350, the Transparency in Music Licensing and Ownership Act, which picked up two new co-sponsors earlier this month, and which has as its purpose the establishment of a copyright information database for music. Specifically, the Act seeks to have the Register of Copyrights create and maintain "a database of nondramatic musical works and sound recordings to help entities that wish to publicly perform such works and recordings to identify and compensate the owners of rights in such works and recordings, and for other purposes." However, while most people would support the the general idea of making it easier for rights holders to be located and compensated for their music, a closer examination of the Act reveals some aspects that are quite consequential for music copyright holders...

When we think of musical elements that are relevant to determinations of copyright infringement, we often think of things like melodies, hooks, and guitar riffs. What garners less attention is the copyrightability of the compositional elements of drum beats. For anyone who may be wondering whether those elements are subject to copyright protection, the answer begins, of course, with the principle that, on one extreme, if you're in a band and your drummer plays the famous standard 4/4 rock beat with the kick on the 1 and 3 and the snare on the 2 and 4, you're obviously likely okay. And beyond that, much of the drumming in contemporary popular music is built upon common and widely-used combinations of elements. However, any discussion of the copyrightability of those elements (or combinations thereof) benefits from an analysis of a relatively recent federal case from New York where the court ruled that a copyright infringement claim involving a particular combination of compositional drum elements could proceed towards trial...

There are a lot of rights involved in creating and distributing music. For instance, certain activities implicate rights of public performance and/or reproduction under copyright law. But the universe of potential rights at issue in the music world does not end at rights granted under copyright law. For example, one important set of rights that are often implicated in connection with music distribution are trademark rights...