What is reproduction?
Remember: one way of describing copyright is that it is the ‘right to copy’. In other words, only the owner of the copyright has the right to copy the work.
Think of a photocopy machine: each time it makes a copy, a reproduction of the poem (resting on the glass screen) is made. In this example, there has been a reproduction of a literary work — right?
The various works in which copyright can subsist are not all capable of being photocopied — but, in one way or another, they can all be reproduced. For example, when you go onto Spotify and download the famous song ‘Yesterday’ by The Beatles, an act of reproduction takes place: from the Spotify server to your smartphone. In reality, several reproductions would take place. The musical work is reproduced; so is the lyric, which is a literary work; and so is the sound recording of that particular performance of the song.
When we deal with copyright infringement (in the Infringement section), we see that ‘reproduction’ does not only mean copying in this exact mechanical or electronically processed way. The owner’s rights are still infringed if a substantially similar version of his work is produced. For example, I might come up with a version of the song ‘Yesterday’, but I change the lyrics. The first two lines of the original were:
‘Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as if they’re here to stay.’
My lyrics are:
‘Yesterday, all my money seemed not so far away
Now it looks as if it’s never here to stay.’
Have I reproduced a substantial part of those two lines from the song by The Beatles? You bet.