How can one work create different kinds of copyright?

Copyright law seeks to looks at the many different ways that a creative work can be expressed or communicated, and reserve those expressions to the author or copyright holder, or to some other person to whom they might assign them.

A musical work offers a good way to understand the many layers of copyright protection that can exist at the same time. The music composed for the play and movie, The Sound Of Music, would qualify as a musical work, and would be protected from duplication, performance or broadcast by anyone but the copyright holder. No one but the holder of the publishing rights could copy the musical score and sell it in a music store, for example. If someone performed that musical work at a theatre, with permission, there would be separate copyright in the performance. No one but the holder of those performance rights could record that performance and sell it as a CD in a record store. And if that performance was broadcast on television, again with permission, further copyright in the transmission of that performance would also be created. No one but the broadcast rights holder could broadcast the performance on radio or television.

The holders of publishing, performance, and broadcast rights are often three different persons or organizations.

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WARNING: The contents of these FAQs are intended as general legal information only.
If you have a personal problem, please consult a lawyer.