The use of a melody in a commercial

Using a recognizable melody in a commercial becomes more and more popular. Creators of commercials very often replace the lyrics of a song with a text which is aimed at promotion of a given product. But how does the protection of a work, composed of both – the melody and the text – looks like?

A musical composition and a text (lyrics) constitute a joint work. It is a combination of two creative contributions, coming from two different fields of art which can be exploited independently. Regardless of the protection given to the music or the text, this joint work, as a whole, can also be protected by copyright.

When you want to combine melody and text for commercial purposes, you do not only  need consent of the author of the melody, but also from the author of the text which is to be replaced. What is more, those declarations of the authors must represent precisely that the consent refers to commercial use of the work.

It is also recommended that you obtain the author’s declaration that they waive protection of their moral rights, in particular regarding the integrity of the work or the identification of the author.

If you want to exploit a melody after its adaptation, what you need is not only the consent of the copyright holder of the adapted music but also of the copyright holder of the original composition.

[Agnieszka Dzido]