Sound recording copyright symbol

℗
Sound recording copyright symbol
In UnicodeU+2117 ℗ SOUND RECORDING COPYRIGHT (℗)
Different from
Different fromU+24C5 Ⓟ CIRCLED LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P
U+24DF ⓟ CIRCLED LATIN SMALL LETTER P
Related
See alsoU+00A9 © COPYRIGHT SIGN
U+00AE ® REGISTERED SIGN

The sound recording copyright symbol or phonogram symbol, ℗ (letter P in a circle), is the copyright symbol used to provide notice of copyright in a sound recording (phonogram) embodied in a phonorecord (LPs, audiotapes, cassette tapes, compact discs, etc.).[1] It was first introduced in the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations in 1961. The United States added it to its copyright law as part of its adherence to the Geneva Phonograms Convention in 17 U.S.C. § 402, the codification of the Copyright Act of 1976.

The letter P in ℗ stands for phonogram,[2][3] the legal term used in most English-speaking countries to refer to works known in U.S. copyright law as "sound recordings".[4]

A sound recording has a separate copyright that is distinct from that of the underlying work (usually a musical work, expressible in musical notation and written lyrics), if any. The sound recording copyright notice extends to a copyright for just the sound itself and will not apply to any other rendition or version, even if performed by the same artist(s).[5]

  1. ^ "Circular 3: Copyright Notice" (PDF). United States Copyright Office. September 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  2. ^ Fishman, Stephen (2012). Public Domain: How to Find & Use Copyright-Free Writings, Music, Art & More. Berkeley, CA: Nolo Press. p. 358. ISBN 9781413317213.
  3. ^ Lee, Robert E. (1995). A Copyright Guide for Authors. Stamford, CT: Kent Press. p. 70. ISBN 9780962710674.
  4. ^ Statement of Marybeth Peters, United States Register of Copyrights, before the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, Committee on the Judiciary (July 31, 2007).
  5. ^ "Circular 56A: Copyright Registration of Musical Compositions and Sound Recordings" (PDF). United States Copyright Office. July 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2021.