With copyright laws changing from time to time, it is important to understand the meaning of ‘exclusive rights.’ Exclusive rights refer to the legal authority to perform certain actions regarding a copyrighted item that other individuals cannot perform. Holders of exclusive rights have the legal power to permit or not permit other persons from performing like acts.

Exclusive rights are separated into two categories. Generally, exclusive rights protect the rights of copying or reproduction of an item (e.g., intellectual property). The second portion of exclusive rights grants copyright holders the legal authority to prevent others from performing something. However, exclusive rights do not prevent others from using similar form of expression in an altogether different context.

Different forms of exclusive rights apply to artistic expression, inventions, etc. Awarded by the government, exclusive rights are granted in intellectual property law, property law and public utilities.

Exclusive rights holders of sound recordings are granted the right to duplicate sound recordings into the form of phono records or copies fixed in the actual original recording. Additionally, exclusive rights music owners have the right to create derivative work from the actual sounds (of a sound recording) and may be rearranged, remixed or otherwise modified.

As with most things, exclusive rights do have limitations. The Fair Use of a copyrighted work for purposes including commentaries, critiquing, educational instruction, news reporting, research or scholarship are not considered an infringement of copyright(s). Other exemptions to exclusive rights include sound recording performances which are part of a nonsubscription, noncommercial broadcast transmission; or are broadcasted sound recordings via compulsory licensing.

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