Copyright Protection for Stage Opera Direction

Aida

The Copyrightability of Opera Direction

A judgment of the Italian Court of Cassation – No. 17565 of 18 June 2021 – offers an opportunity to investigate the legal protection options applicable to the direction of opera. As this issue is not addressed by EU law, EU Member States have adopted different approaches, from awarding copyright, to neighboring rights, to a mixture of the two. This opinion aims at finding the most consistent solution within the Italian legal framework. After an assessment of the alternative legal options, it argues that opera direction should be eligible for copyright protection via an analogical application of Art. 44 of the Italian copyright law, which indirectly includes cinematic direction within the area of copyrightable works. This conclusion is based on the fact that there are no substantial differences between the two types of direction justifying a diverse treatment. Otherwise, it would result in blatant and unsubstantiated discrimination because both categories of directors set out to convert a text – the dramatic text or the film script – to the medium of theatre or film respectively. Finally, this opinion suggests that even if the other creative roles involved in opera making are not addressed by the law, they too should qualify as co-authors if they make a creative contribution.

A Novel Video Copyright Protection Scheme Based on Blockchain and Double Watermarking

With the continuous development of multimedia, more and more digital works such as videos are spread, stored, and used in the network. In recent years, digital copyright infringement disputes have occurred frequently. The traditional copyright protection system has some problems, such as difficulty confirming copyright, monitoring infringement, and obtaining evidence for rights protection. To this end, we have designed and implemented a novel video copyright protection scheme based on the blockchain and double watermarking technology. We use the image correlation coefficient method to extract video keyframes. And we combine with Contourlet Transform domain, QR decomposition, and SIFT algorithm to improve the robustness of watermark against geometric attacks on the premise of invisibility. After that, we use Arnold Transformation (Cat Map) based on the Maximum Entropy Threshold Segmentation to encrypt the robust watermark and strengthen the security. Moreover, based on the characteristics of the fragile watermarking, we accurately locate the attacked video’s tamper position and complete the integrity authentication of the watermarked video. In addition, the hash digest of the video watermark and the user ID of the copyright owner is signed by SM2 and uploaded to the blockchain. The user can register the copyright after passing the identity authentication. We conduct tests and security analysis on the blockchain performance of the system, the performance of the commercial cryptography algorithm, and the security of the watermarking system. The experimental results show that the blockchain used in this system conforms to the industry standard, the performance of SM2 and SM3 is better than ECC-256 and SHA-256, and the system security is well guaranteed.

Production and Consumption Model of a Modern Music Product

Introduction. The relevance of the study is in the formation of conceptual and terminological apparatus for the functioning of the music industry in Ukraine, the identification of music product producers, determining the specifics of music product and its essence, to develop an effective mechanism for copyright protection of authors and performers (artists) in a crisis of royalty payments formed in Ukraine in 2021. Purpose and methods. The study aims to determine the model of production and consumption of a modern music product given the rapid digitization of such a product in the last decade. The methodological basis of the study is comprehensive, systematic, and historical approaches. Results. A music product is defined in two definitions: first, like a musical composition with lyrics (song) or without lyrics (melody); secondly, “artist” as a music product that is directly involved in creating a track (song), public performance (concert), products with the symbols of their brand (merch) and content for social networks, television, radio, including advertising. Modern manufacturers of the music industry commercialize the artist's brand, his unique story. This strategy ensures rapid monetization of the music project and reduces investment risks. Conclusions. The scientific novelty of the research results is to determine the specifics of the functioning of traditional and modern models of modern music product production and consumption. The practical significance of the obtained results is in the use of the concept of “music product” for the development and improvement of legislation in the field of culture, the functioning of the music industry, and the protection of intellectual property rights, including copyright.