Current copyright laws can have a mixed variety of effects on producers. Where laws can be pretty airtight and protect a producer's work from being stolen or illegally used, problems still arise.
Copyright laws usually don't harm a media producer, however it is nearly impossible to regulate the amount of media being stolen and used illegally everyday. For example, music that is created and copyrighted by musicians could be used without permission for countless videos, projects or a vast majority of other things without the knowledge of the musician. There isn't an elite squad of cyber police checking ever YouTube video everyday to make sure a 13 year old didn't illegally use a famous musician's song.
So what can media producers do to help protect their work? I happen to be a musician myself. I have heard a few times before from other local musicians and artist, and also from our Communications professor, Kevin Williams, that if you simply put a postage stamp on your work, it can protect you from someone stealing or illegally borrowing your work. It may not always be the case that a producer wants their work to be private and never allow others to share it. Sometimes you may want to intentionally make your work available to others. In this instance, media producers can choose to just have their name attributed with their work.
A simple step like mailing your band's first EP to yourself will hold up in court if the need ever arises. Taking the proper precautions to protect your work from being used against your will can help to protect media producers, but it can hurt them if they don't.
