A copyright is the right of the copyright holder to keep other people from copying his original music without his permission. Simply put, it makes burning CDs illegal if you don't have express permission from the copyright holders, which in most cases are the record company that released the CD and the artist who made the music.
There are a few different types of copyright. There are copyrights to protect the person who wrote the music, the person who wrote the lyrics, and the composition (the production of the track). In some cases a publishing company may hold a copyright for the same recording. You need permission from all of these to burn music to a CD.
How long do copyrights last? The music is protected for 50 years from the time it was first recorded. The copyright on composition or production of the track lasts for 70 years after the composer or producer dies.
According to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), a trade group that represents U.S. recording artists, the law creates an exception for personal use. You may make copies for your own personal use of CDs that you legitimately own. Anything other than that is illegal, except under a provision for educational institutions.
Schools, colleges and universities are allowed to make a single copy of a sound recording of copyrighted music that is owned by that educational institution or individual teacher for the purpose of teaching or testing. In addition, a single copy of a recording of performance by students may be made for evaluation or rehearsal purposes by an educational institution or teacher.
According to the RIAA, anyone found making illegal copies could find themselves facing statutory damages of $750 to $30,000 and, if the court finds willfulness (the intention to sell), the copyright holders can sue you for as much as $150,000. Criminal penalties can run up to $250,000 and five years' imprisonment even for first-time offenders, whether you did it for commercial gain or not.
"When you start making copies so others can enjoy the benefits, you're depriving the right of the copyright holder and their ability to derive income from their music, and that's when the infringement action typically arises," says Mark Tratos, an intellectual property attorney and president of the Las Vegas law firm Quirk & Tratos, who recently published an article on the development of entertainment law in the digital age for the New York Bar Association