Well, disagree with me all you want, but the US copyright office says there is no basis in US law for the poor man's copyright.
I don't disagree with that statement, I disagree that a poormans copyright is useless.
You can not sue someone in the U.S. without a copyright...this is a fact.
How do you get a copyright? You prove you have a unique creation and that you created it on X date...It's ridiculous that the basis of saying a poormans copyright has no value is that there is no case law where it was used to win a copyright infringement...No Duh.....That's cause you can't sue unless you have a U.S. copyright...
The devil is in the details...
I have been involved in copyright litigation on the side of the infringer..( not in music but in another type of infringement ) I know what it takes to get a copyright and get a patent as I have been involved in both.
So that all said...let's walk this through Joe mama steals my song and lyrics and copyrights it..I call Joe and say you low life mofo you stole my song...and he laughs and says tough luck sucker you snooze you lose..it's copyrighted under my name.....
Well if it was only so easy...it isn't
I contact the Copyright office and inform them that Joe's copyright is invalid because I wrote that damn song and I've got proof....I've been down this road and I know how it works...
Remember "proof of the pudding"...I send the examiner at the copyright office via registered mail my poor mans copyright still sealed in a registered letter. These examiners are honest realistic folks and they pride themselves in making sure every copyright they issue is legit and worthy of being protected...If it is found after the fact it isn't it is invalidated...
So I prove to them that the song indeed is my song and I deserve the protection not Frickin Joe Mama and I pay the fees necessary to do that...Now I can go sue Joe for all the dough he made selling my tune in court...
Now I used the poorman's copyright as the example because that's what this topic turned to....but as I said earlier in this post I am not a fan of the mail yourself a registered letter...No, I say make digital copies ....e-mail the copy to your friends and families letting them know that this is your latest creation and hell e-mail one to the copyright office for that matter...after you do that upload them on the sites I mentioned with the same information thus digitally documenting you created this song on this date for perpetuity...I am not a lawyer but I am damn certain the copyright office or judge will accept that digital proof of the creation date...that's all you need is proof of the original creation release date. Any copyright can be invalidated with that proof and a copyright granted with the same
The odds of most of us ever being in this situation is probably 1 in 100,000 or even more...why in the heck should we collectively contribute the the Copyright offices general fund to the tune of millions of dollars for such a miniscule chance we win the lotto...when based upon what I just explained with solid proof you can get your song copyrighted when the time comes to sue somebodys ass for stealing you song...
I'm a practical cheap ass who watches his money closely... If what I say doesn't make you feel warm n fuzzy and you feel you really have half a rats ass chance that your song is worth the investment of time and money to get it "officially copyrighted" go for it...I'm not going there till (LOL) Joe Mama steals my song and starts making money off of it...
Addendum:
Thought I'd add this link from Wiki
Everything you ever wanted to know about copyrights
Something we all say with a grain of salt is that if you have a copyright you can sue the infringer.......Most of us have never sued anybody at this level..... This shit can get expensive quick 10's of thousands of dollars in lawyers fee quickly AND if you are unsuccessful the court can sometimes find you liable for the person you sued legal expenses......YIKES!
It get serious and real ...real quick.... Big balls and deep pockets are a general prerequisite unless you're a lawyer yourself...