The sound recording copyright symbol, represented by the graphic symbol ℗ (a circled P), is the copyright symbol used to provide notice of copyright in a sound recording (phonogram). The use of the symbol originated in United States copyright law[1] and is specified internationally in the Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms.[2]
The P stands for phonogram, the legal term used in most English-speaking countries to refer to works known in U.S. copyright law as "sound recordings."[3]
A sound recording has a separate copyright that is distinct from that of the underlying work (usually a musical work, expressible in musical notation and written lyrics), if any. The sound recording copyright notice is a copyright for just the sound itself, and will not apply to any other rendition or version, even if performed by the same artist(s).
The sound recording copyright notice consists of three elements:
the ℗ symbol;
the year of first publication of the sound recording; and
an identification of the owner of the copyright, either by name, abbreviation or other designation by which it is generally known. The identification can be omitted if the owner is the sound recording's producer, and the producer is identified on associated packaging.[1]
The symbol in Unicode is U+2117 ℗ sound recording copyright (HTML: ℗ ).[4]
It closely resembles U+24C5 Ⓟ circled latin capital letter p (HTML: Ⓟ ) and U+24DF ⓟ circled latin small letter p (HTML: ⓟ )[5]