Memorandum

Date: Re: 5 September 2012 Writing Assignment #1: Creation & Duration of Copyright

Copyright subsists in a work from its creation and lasts for 70 years after the authors death. 17 USC 302(a). A work is created when it is fixed in aphonorecord for the first time. 101. A work is fixed in a phonorecord when its embodiment in that material object is sufficient permanent or stable for it to be communicated, reproduced, or perceived for a period longer than a transitory duration. Id. A work must be fixed by or under the authority of the author for copyright to subsist in that work. Id. Coming Home could not have been created on May 11 because Simon did not fix the musical work in a phonorecord at that time. Playing the song on a piano (and singing aloud) does not fix the work because the resonating vibrations merely dissipate into the air; the sounds are not sufficiently permanent or stable for them to last more than transitory duration. However, a piano capable of recording Simons keystrokes, allowing him to replay what he composed, could satisfy the fixation requirement; the sounds would remain embodied in that material object, capable of being communicated, reproduced, or perceived. Similarly, playing the song for Lilly over the phone would not satisfy the fixation requirement because the work was not embodied in a material object. We are told Simons performance at the bar was recorded by DJ Funkyman. However, we are not told whether this recording was made by or under the authority of the authorto the contrary, we are told this recording occurred unbeknownst to Simon. Although it seems unlikely that one can authorize a recording without knowing it occurred, we will need to know for certain whether this recording was made by or under Simons authority; if Simon authorized the recording, the work might have been fixedand createdat the moment the recording occurred. Most likely, Coming Home was created when Simon recorded the song in his home studio. There, the work was fixed in a tangible medium (recorded on CD) in a way that is sufficiently permenant for it to be communicated or reproduced (he made copies and distributed them), and the recording was made by Simon (the author). Thus, copyright will subsist in the work on May 30, 3011.1 The copyright will last for the rest of Simons live, and 70 years thereafter.

1 3011 may

have been a typographical error in the prompt. But if not, Im impressed that Simon still has it in him after all those years! 1