Producing an established musical : the copyright question

Abstract

Copyright is an author’s inalienable right and it is applied to all works, with no exception for the popular realm of musical theatre that amalgamates original song, dance and drama. This dissertation explores the notion of copyright and its functioning for established and original works of musical theatre. This research will be studying international instruments of law ; mainly the Berne Convention, the Copyright Directive 2001/29/EC and the Directive proposal on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, alongside the Maltese legislation contained in the Copyright Act. This will be supported by an analysis of judgements about copyright over original work from the courts of justice of the European Union, the United Kingdom and Malta. The research also aims for a thorough understanding of the practical aspect of licensing through interviews with licensing bodies and publishers, collecting societies and creative individuals producing established musicals in the Maltese theatre scene. In addition to this, the study will also address the awareness of individuals and the reality of copyright for an original work of musical theatre. Through these interviews, the study will gain an original standpoint to be able to evaluate the local reality, practice and knowledge in the theatre community whilst outlining the present legal situation in Malta, in consideration of the law and guidelines published by PRS for Music Malta and Arts Council Malta. This dissertation will be concluded with legal recommendations for the advancement of copyright for musicals in Malta and the Maltese theatre industry.