In this excerpt from a panel discussion held at a 2008 meeting of the American Bar Association’s Sports & Entertainment Law Forum, the panelists discuss how songs are licensed for use in video games, and what it means in terms of licensing fees and royalty payments for publishers and copyright holders.

In this excerpt from a panel discussion held at a 2008 meeting of the American Bar Association’s Sports & Entertainment Law Forum, the panelists discuss how compositions generate fees and royalties from merchandising uses. Examples cited are lyrics printed on clothing as well as compositions and master recordings licensed for singing toys and a musical toothbrush.

Russell Rains, Director of the MBA Program in Digital Media Management at St. Edward’s University in Austin TX, discusses the program and what it offers to students over and above the standard fare of business degrees (such as finance, accounting and marketing). Rains also defines exactly what Digital Media Management is, what it means, and why Austin is going to be an important location for digital media production in the years to come.

Russell Rains, Director of the MBA Program in Digital Media Management Program at St. Edward’s College in Austin TX, defines the parameters of copyright law as it applies to sound recordings in the USA, and identifies many areas in which the law is vague or incomplete. He also discusses how the Copyright Act of 1976 changed copyright law, and addresses the role of the federal government and private bodies in enforcing copyright law.

Russell Rains, Director of the MBA Program in Digital Media Management Program at St. Edward’s College in Austin TX, discusses the current state of copyright law as regards sampling of existing works. Beginning with the 1991 court case “Grand Upright Music, Ltd v. Warner Bros. Records, Inc.” which for more than a decade seemed to have settled the question of sampling’s illegality, Rains discusses new court decisions and legal developments which in the very near future may transform how sampling relates to copyright law in the United States.

Russell Rains, Director of the MBA Program in Digital Media Management Program at St. Edward’s College in Austin TX, discusses various possible futures for copyright in the USA, from abolishing it outright to modifying the law to better account for digital distribution and duplication.

Russell Rains, Director of the MBA Program in Digital Media Management Program at St. Edward’s College in Austin TX, answers the question, “If music is property, why don’t many people consider downloading music without paying to be stealing?” He discusses the ethical, legal, and common-sense issues at play when discussing the culture of music downloading, and then looks at various sides of a related question: “If the music is available for free, then why pay?”

Russell Rains, Director of the MBA Program in Digital Media Management Program at St. Edward’s College in Austin TX, discusses how copyright and licensing works in the context of the video game industry.

Russell Rains, Director of the MBA Program in Digital Media Management Program at St. Edward’s College in Austin TX, discusses the concept of “precedent” and how it relates to copyright law, which in turn underpins the entire music industry as we know it. He discusses the origins of modern law in English common law, and why it is critical that modern courts stick to the 1,000 years of precedents that have come before when formulating their decisions. He also analyzes the apparent breakdown in precedent that is facing modern copyright law, as technology and new distribution methods get far out ahead of the law’s ability to encompass them.

Maggie Lange, an attorney and Professor of Music Business/Management at Berklee College of Music, discusses at length the US copyright code and how it applies to the music industry and recording artists. Topics covered include: the nuts and bolts of what copyright is; the five exclusive rights granted to copyright holders; how features like fair use and the compulsory mechanical license provision work; what ?work for hire? means; what to fight for in your recording deal; and how to organize your band?s business to protect your individual and group rights.