400-34
492
Sound recording distinct from sounds accompanying audiovisual work.
492.02
Extent of claim. Where a sound recording contains sounds previously published as part of a motion picture, the claim must be limited to the material not contained in the motion picture. See section 496.03 below.
Example:
Album jacket states "original soundtrack recording," and application asserts an unlimited claim in sounds. The Copyright Office will question whether the sounds are the same as those originally fixed in the motion picture, or whether they have been altered. If the sounds are unchanged, they are not considered a "sound recording," and the claim cannot be registered as a sound recording. (The sounds could be, and generally are, covered by the registration for the motion picture.) However, if the sounds are substantially altered from those in the motion picture, perhaps remixed from the original multi-track tapes, a claim in the sounds may be registered, but it must be limited to the new material, as for example, the remixing.
493
Forms of embodiment. Sound recordings are embodied in phonorecords.
493.01
Statutory definition of phonorecords. "Phonorecords are material objects in which sounds, other than those accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work, are fixed by any method now known or later developed, and from which the sounds can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. The term "phonorecords" includes the material object in which the sounds are first fixed. 17 U.S.C. 101.
[1984]
