I came to Osgoode as a professional musician, and intended to get myself into copyright law and policy. What better place to realize that goal than getting a place in this internship? SOCAN’s focus is serving the world’s musicians; not only are they remunerating Canadian musicians for their performances and compositions, but they are also paying international musicians whose collective agencies have agreements with SOCAN. It’s a global operation, beyond simply managing music within Canadian borders. And not only that, but SOCAN is interested in copyright policy in Canada and internationally, whether it is being involved in the most important copyright cases of the past decade, or researching tariff policy of its international members performing anywhere internationally. It amazes me how many industries are involved with SOCAN nationally and globally.

Then there is the non-copyright work within an in-house environment that is so valuable for any law student seeking real-world legal experience. The common tasks that come up daily are usually not related to copyright at all, but are those common in any legal atmosphere, whether it be litigation- related, general research or proofreading of corporate-related materials, or just discussing just about anything during the day-to-day meetings with the legal team. One of the best memories I will have of the experience is the welcoming atmosphere created in every single meeting I had with the legal department. They were open, friendly, and treated me like one of their own. It was a shame that the pandemic did not permit these interactions to be in person, but I may only look forward to having the chance to work in a real office in the not-too-distant future.

One may find that an experience like this is transforming for any law student. I was given real files, involved in real issues, and matters seemed to move quickly from one copyright issue to another corporate issue, to government policy, to drafting documents for litigation, to ghost-writing letters for employees from other departments, and even to getting personal advice about the real-estate market. And with these experiences, one learns about every crevice of how a collective agency works, how it feels to work in-house and be involved in civil litigation every day, and most importantly, who are the people behind the profession. With me, the team was open with every matter, expressed themselves honestly and without restraint, and took time to explain the clockwork of each issue in more detail when I requested. It becomes important to realize that these professionals do love their job (most of the time), and a law student has to understand the importance of this to succeed in the profession in the long run. I began to understand it at SOCAN.

Having to be home for this experience was bitter-sweet. The SOCAN team made it sweet by making sure I was technologically equipped for all meetings and I was given access to all electronic resources. Also, of course, I need not mention the ease of my mornings. It was bitter because the tour of the office on the first day of my placement was the only time I got to step foot inside SOCAN’s physical world. But, I believe some misfortunes come with their blessings. I know I will always yearn to personally meet with each colleague from SOCAN one day. I can definitely say I now recognize their electronic voices, pixelated faces, and the inside of their homes. And who knows, maybe, when these difficult times pass in the near future, that day will come.

Written by Sebastian Romanutti, JD Candidate 2021, enrolled in Professors D’Agostino and Vaver 2020/2021 IP & Technology Law Intensive Program at Osgoode Hall Law School. As part of the course requirements, students were asked to write a reflective blog on their internship experience.

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I love . I subscribe to the adage “good artists borrow; great artists steal”. So, I’m personally invested in the intellectual property (IP) infringement cases which concern the intangible thievery the law welcomes—innocent, lawful, and genius—and that it seeks to discourage—deliberate, unlawful, and mediocre. To me, infringement cases implicitly describe our culture’s ideas about talented artists, strong corporate branding, and inventiveness.

But infringement is not just about comparing two IP creations’ differences and similarities. IP law—copyright especially—is equally concerned with uses of protected creations that can encroach on owners’ scope of rights. And as we dive headfirst into cyberspace, we develop new ways to consume, share, and create, in turn raising novel use-based infringement issues. Interning at SOCAN—a frequent party in the most of Canadian —provided the ideal placement to fuel my passion.

SOCAN is a Canadian copyright collective management organization (CMO). They represent the Canadian performing rights of their membership—millions of music creators and publishers—and collect royalties and enforce copyright on their behalf. The CMO web can seem complex, but at its simplest: A, a business, wants to use B, C, & D’s music. SOCAN represents B-D’s music performing rights. So A gets a SOCAN license, pays the relevant fees. Then, SOCAN distributes fairly that which they collect to B-D.

Simple, right? Not so fast.

First, complications arise generally for CMOs as a result of copyright’s fragmentation. One song may have two potential groups of ownership: those owning the “musical work”, and those owning its “sound recording” and/or its “performer’s performance”. Each of these owners is also granted a bundle of rights, including reproduction and public performance rights, for works they own.

More complexity abounds as each bundle is broken down by use. This occurs as each new is certified, and includes uses like public performance by live music, background music, or karaoke.

The fragmentation complexity becomes manifest when time comes to distribute millions of works for millions of uses at business across Canada. Oh, did I mention that many works have more than one author, many authors have licensed some or all of their rights, and those rights may be held by a combination of different parties living in different territories across Canada?

If this was not enough to fend with, many businesses do not want to be licensed and remunerate artists for their music use, and they opt not to. Also, some businesses argue that they should not have to pay license fees. Typical arguments posit: a use constitutes fair dealing; a use was already paid under a different tariff (for a different use); or, no current certified tariff even contemplates that particular use (as a hypothetical example, do any tariffs cover thirty-second ringtones programmed to play when an intergalactic spaceship’s )

I expected I would spend most of my time researching such novel questions of music use or working in litigation files. And, I did engage with some of the former and quite a bit of the latter, giving me ample opportunity to hone my legal research and drafting skills. But I also had the chance to investigate and advise on an overwhelmingly broad scope of in-house legal matters: privacy, data retention, and anti-spam law; contract drafting and policy review; competition and American bankruptcy law; and for one glorious brief afternoon, the growing and fascinating field of “bouncy castle law”.

I was constantly impressed by both SOCAN’s exceptional workplace environment (featuring frequent lunchtime music performance sessions by SOCAN-member artists like Dean Brody and Kevin Parent), and its emphasis on building positive and collaborative relationships with its members and licensees alike.

I want to thank my supervisors and the entire legal department at SOCAN for the best ten weeks of my law school experience. I doubt I could have been placed among a more welcoming, helpful, supportive, and patient team. I leave significantly more confident in my practical legal knowhow than when I arrived, and I owe that to SOCAN and the IP intensive program.

Jordan Fine is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School and was enrolled in Osgoode’s Intellectual Property Law and Technology Intensive Program. As part of the program requirements, students were asked to write a reflective blog on their internship experience.

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In May 2015, Re:Sound, one of �䲹�Բ��岹’s various music licensing companies, published , a report about “the value of music to customers and businesses,” and the results are prominent: music does influence customers’ decisions. According to that report, 75% of��Canadians notice the music being played in bars and restaurants and 88% of Canadians enjoy hearing music in such establishments. Moreover, 80% of Canadians “feel that music in a bar [or] restaurant […] enhances their experience.” This appreciation often translates into very cogent actions such as making patrons stay longer, returning to the business in the future, and��recommending the place to others. Music, whether live or recorded, can be used as a powerful “marketing tool that adds value to businesses” and should therefore be carefully chosen.

This desire to hear music in eating and drinking establishments should emphasize, not trivialize, the source of that music. In fact, according to that report, “” Upon learning��that a business was not complying to music licensing laws,��almost 50% of Canadians would take some kind of action, including not recommending the establishment to others. And such reactions are not only true of Canadians. The report adds that��40% of��Swedish consumers would also have a negative opinion of a business if they discovered��it was using music illegally. Therefore, in order to take advantage of music as a means��to attract new clients, business owners must not only take in consideration what they play, but also its��legality. In Canada, that��means complying to the various rules surrounding performance rights.

�䲹�Բ��岹’s gives copyright owners the exclusive right to perform music works in public or to communicate them to the public by telecommunication. Such rights do not only include live performances but also the use of recorded music in a public setting. SOCAN (the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) and Re:Sound both provide business owners with multiple tariff licences applicable to various uses of music. Paying one copyright collective however licensees from paying the other.

�����䴡��'���� is a licence to play (publicly perform) live music in an eating/drinking establishment. The annual fee for this specific licence is 3% of the yearly compensation for entertainment, for a minimum of $83.65 per year. Compensation for entertainment includes the artist’s remuneration as well as any tips given by customers or in-kind contributions from the business owner (free meals, transportation, etc.).

, on the other hand, allows those establishments to play recorded music accompanying live entertainment. Licensees are required to pay 2% of the annual compensation for entertainment, for a minimum of $62.74 per year. Re:Sound's equivalent to this licence, , demands 0.9% of the aforementioned compensation, for a minimum of $37.64 per year.

is probably the SOCAN licence that applies to the highest number of businesses, as it covers the use of music for background purposes. The annual fee depends on the size of the establishment: $1.23 per square metre or 11.46 cents per square foot;��and a��minimum yearly fee of��$94.51. Seasonal establishments are only required to pay half of the aforementioned rate, provided they are operating under��six months per year, though��the minimum annual fee applies nonetheless. Keep in mind that paying for a streaming service or online radio will not exempt business owners from paying this licence (digital music services such as Spotify have reiterated this in their and do not allow, in most cases,��commercial use of their platform). However, no royalties will be collected for the use of a radio receiving set.

On the other hand, , the comparable Re:Sound tariff in this case, requires fees that can be calculated in : "1) the total annual tickets sold or admissions multiplied by $0.000831; or if that is not available, 2) the total capacity of the establishment, multiplied by the number of days of operation in a year, multiplied by $0.001558; or, if that too is not available, then 3) the area of the establishment in square metres or square feet, multiplied by the number of days of operation in a year, multiplied by the number of days in operation in a year, multiplied by $0.002597 (per m2) or $0.000239 (per ft2)."

Finally, �����䴡��'���� allows licensees to play recorded music for dancing. The annual fee is based on the establishment’s capacity as well as the days and months of operation. After a series of calculations based on those variables, the final number should be equal to the percentage required by SOCAN for this particular licence. , Re:Sound's comparable licence, also uses these variables to determine the required annual fee. The calculations will vary depending on whether the establishment can accommodate more than 100 patrons or not.

The Pan American Games will probably not have much of an impact on Toronto's already music scene, nor the way musicians are compensated for their work. But as they give restaurant and bar owners the chance to target a new consumer base, they also allow public performance rights to be discussed as an investment as opposed to a mandatory compensation. And as with most investments, rules need to be followed and content creators and performers��need to be remunerated.

��Aicha Tohry is an IPilogue Editor and a JD candidate at Université de Montréal.

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I was looking forward to interning SOCAN for two main reasons. First, I was being given the opportunity to work on behalf of fellow musicians. When I was a professional musician, SOCAN was truly a lifeline.�� Whenever I needed help, they always took the time to make sure any issues were taken care of; and since most of the money I generated through my music went straight to publishers, managers, and labels, SOCAN was the only place from which I actually received remuneration.�� Second, I was going to get some much-needed real-world legal experience, including a rare opportunity to assist in preparing for the multiple upcoming hearings at the SCC that concerned communication to the public.

Although I was initially quite nervous, my first week at SOCAN went a long way to assuaging any fears I had due to my lack of experience.�� Everyone I met was extremely helpful and welcoming; and they were happy to answer even the most naïve questions.�� The legal department at SOCAN was actually smaller than I expected, and unusually calm considering the amount of cases they had coming up at the SCC.

I was mainly given research tasks during my time at SOCAN, and not all of it had to do with copyright or music. ��In my time working with counsel there, I learned that the job of in-house counsel deals with many different areas of law. ��Of course, I conducted legal research into various new proposed Tariffs, Bill C-11, and the upcoming SCC cases, but I also looked into such things as insurance contracts and corporate law.

I also worked on litigation files.�� I not only had the opportunity to draft such things as Undertakings, Refusals and Statements of Claim, but I was also able to have in depth discussions about each task with the lawyers who assigned them to me.�� The hands-on approach that this intensive made possible is a fantastic way to learn such things – working side by side with counsel in such a way is not possible in a classroom situation.�� Every new assignment taught me more about what it is to be a lawyer, and each memo I wrote brought everything into sharper focus.

What really impressed me about SOCAN is how concerned they are with doing what is right.��SOCAN is more interested in making legal access to music as easy as possible than it is in enforcing strict copyright regimes.�� Most��people who work there do so because they love music, and they genuinely want what is best both for creators and users.�� Working with SOCAN on behalf of musicians and music users (for fair remuneration and easy legal access) was truly an honour for me.

I can easily say that interning at SOCAN was best experience of my Osgoode education so far.�� It helped so much to prepare me for what it will be like once I am back in the “real” world.�� Until the intensive, I found that law school had done little to prepare me for what the actual work of a lawyer was like, and my time at SOCAN went a long way to bringing the concept of working as a lawyer into focus.

Joshua Dallman is a JD student at Osgoode Hall Law School. Here, he reports on his experience at the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), while interning there as part of the inaugural offering of the (IP Intensive) at Osgoode.

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