IP and Music: A Speed-of-Sound Challenge in Latin America (WORLD IP DAY 2025)

The music industry is one of the most significant globally and also one of the few that enables near-instantaneous worldwide distribution. Given this, ensuring proper protection at every stage of music production and distribution is essential to guarantee fair compensation for creators, performers, and industry professionals. 

However, playing a song on a phone involves the work of multiple contributors (composers, performers, producers, technicians) each of whom generates rights to compensation. Collecting and distributing these payments is a complex task, particularly considering that music often travels across borders at the speed of sound. 

Latin America has long been a key region for European artists. Many from Spain, Italy, France, Sweden, Portugal, and Germany have found success there, with some even establishing entire careers in the region. To understand how they have successfully distributed and protected their music across an ocean, it is helpful to break down the key phases and participants in a song’s lifecycle. 

Copyright Principles 

Copyright, the primary area of intellectual property law protecting music, is governed by national legislations. While international treaties provide general frameworks, there is no global registration system, which makes music protection more complex. 

Legislation varies by country; matters such as the existence of a registry or the duration of copyright protection differ, the latter typically lasting between 50 and 100 years after the author’s death, after which works enter the public domain. Despite these differences, copyright law is largely harmonised worldwide due to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. 

The Berne Convention establishes fundamental principles, including automatic protection from the moment of creation, a minimum duration of protection extending beyond the creator’s lifetime, and the principle of national treatment, which ensures that works are protected in member countries as if they had been created there. 

Registration of a Work 

Although copyright protection is automatic upon creation, some countries offer or require registration systems. Registration can serve as evidence of authorship and preexistence, and in some cases, it is necessary for granting licences or transferring economic rights. 

Moral Rights 

Moral rights are a key element of the Berne Convention that protect the personal bond between an author and their work. These rights include the right to be recognised as the creator and the right to oppose modifications that could harm the work’s integrity. Moral rights are inalienable in most jurisdictions, though some countries like the UK, Canada, and the US allow them to be waived or transferred. 

Related Rights 

Copyright only protects the composition of a song—music and/or lyrics. Performers (singers, musicians), producers, technicians, and broadcasters have distinct rights known as related or neighbouring rights. 

Whereas copyright protects creative works, related rights cover performances, productions, and broadcasting. Governed by the Rome Convention and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, these rights can include moral protections and typically last up to 50 years after a performance or recording. 

In essence, the author of a song holds copyright over the music and lyrics (if both were written by the same person). On the other hand, performers, producers, and technicians hold separate related rights, each with different durations and scopes of protection. 

From Creation to Monetisation 

Understanding copyright and related rights allows us to examine how a song is protected from its creation in Europe to its broadcast on Colombian radio or a stream play in Mexico. The process involves four key phases: creation, fixation, distribution, and monetisation. 

The first phase is creation. Composers write the music and lyrics, obtaining automatic copyright protection. These rights belong to the composers, though they can be assigned to music publishers. 

Next comes fixation or recording. This step involves singers, musicians, producers, arrangers, engineers, and other technicians. 

Once recorded, the song enters the distribution phase, where radio stations, digital platforms, and commercial outlets play a role, each holding related rights. 

Finally, monetisation takes place. In the past, when music was sold through physical records, revenue collection was simpler: record labels managed sales, paid artists, and negotiated with radio stations. The digital era, however, has introduced streaming, downloads, and independent artists, making royalty collection more complex. 

Each use of a musical work, whether streaming (making available to the public), digital downloads or physical sales (reproduction rights), or radio and public venue plays (public performance rights), generates royalties. These must be tracked, collected, and distributed among all rights holders, a process largely managed by collective management organisations (CMOs). Record labels also play a crucial role, as they typically own master recording rights and are key to matters regarding marketing and revenue distribution. 

Collective Management Organisations 

CMOs, usually non-profit entities, administer and protect copyright and related rights on behalf of creators, ensuring fair compensation. Their responsibilities include collecting and distributing royalties, granting licences, monitoring the use of works, and providing legal representation for rights holders. These organisations operate across different countries, making rights management feasible in a digital, globalised industry. 

Artists typically register with a CMO in their country of origin or residence, which then adds their music to its catalogue. Through reciprocity agreements, these organisations collaborate with counterparts in other countries to manage rights and transfer royalties internationally. Separate CMOs exist for authors, musicians, singers, performers, and producers, and many also offer legal or financial support. 

Online management platforms provide alternatives for independent artists or those with limited repertoires who prefer not to engage with traditional CMOs. 

Music Protection in Latin America 

If music is used in a Latin American country, whether played on the radio, in commercial venues, streamed, or downloaded, local CMOs manage the rights and distribute royalties accordingly. The principle of national treatment ensures that foreign works receive the same protection as domestic ones. However, there are notable country-specific variations. 

In Mexico, registering a song with INDAUTOR (National Institute for Copyright) is optional but available, including an online option. Mexico grants the longest copyright protection worldwide: 100 years after the author's death or first publication (for anonymous works). Related rights last for 75 years from the first recording or disclosure of the phonogram, meaning works remain protected long after entering the public domain elsewhere. 

Brazil also offers optional registration. Physical copies must be submitted to the Copyright Office (EDA) for lyrics and scores, or to the School of Music of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro for full compositions. Copyright protection lasts 70 years after the author's death, and related rights extend 70 years from the first recording or disclosure of a phonogram. 

In Argentina and Colombia, protection also lasts for 70 years. Both countries allow online registration of scores and lyrics with the National Directorate for Copyright (DNDA). In Argentina, musical works can also be registered with the National Society of Music Authors and Composers, which operates as a DNDA delegate for these applications. 

Colombia has an additional initiative, the “Red Naranja” (Orange Network). On this government platform, musicians can publish their registered works to attract producers or industry representatives, aiming to boost the local creative sector.