Do you/will you copyright your songs?

Have you/will you copyright your songs?

  • Yes

    Votes: 17 77.3%
  • No

    Votes: 4 18.2%
  • undecided

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • other

    Votes: 1 4.5%

  • Total voters
    22
Meh. I don't. If someone stole my song I'd be so excited about it.

Yeah, but then you might also get annoyed that they won't admit it. And then there is a touch of doubt that they actually stole it, and you'll never know for sure if your excitement was warranted in the first place - which kinda takes away from the excitement.
 
Evidence is easy - email your songs to yourself or to someone you trust. You can't fake those dates that I'm aware of. I don't know how you prove when the other guy wrote it though.
 
:facepalm:
I give up.

I don't see how what I said contradicts anything said in this thread. Yes, registration is better - that's your point, right? (notice I am guessing what your point is, because you declined to provide an explanation for no apparent reason).
 
I don't see how what I said contradicts anything said in this thread. Yes, registration is better - that's your point, right? (notice I am guessing what your point is, because you declined to provide an explanation for no apparent reason).

Maybe you didn't read the whole thread. Registration being better wasn't my point. My point was, in the US, there is only one way to prove your ownership of copyrightable material.

Not that any of this matters, it's all academic. None of us are ever going to have our songs ripped off nor have need to prove ownership. So, whichever method you want to prove your copyright, or not, go for it. Sure, email is cheap, use that one. I'll continue to send my stuff to the copyright joint in DC. Austin is full of songwriters and some of them actually mill a dime off their stuff. There is that one tiny slim chance that someone might steal a song or part of one if/when I go to songwriters' meetings.

Ok, now I give up.
:D
 
how would you prefer to see it work?

If you haven't registered it, you don't have any protection, because you can't prove you're the author. The medium is irrelevant.

That's how it is.

Whether or not loose or flakey attempts at proof may be acceptable doesn't really matter.
That'll vary from case to case, country to country, circumstance to circumstance.

You can't flat out say you're protected unless you are...properly.
 
In copyright disputes, evidence is everything. Evidence as to when something existed is probably the critical one.
Bingo, that's what I think, but I can't say how definitive that is or isn't here.

Copyright is in many ways like libel actions. You may be 100% able to initiate action, but can you afford to?
That's the other rub. If someone steals your stuff, it's likely to be no small amount of time, cost and effort to beat them back. Unless this is your livelihood, you'd have to seriously question if it's worth it.


Maybe you didn't read the whole thread. Registration being better wasn't my point. My point was, in the US, there is only one way to prove your ownership of copyrightable material.
Which would mean registration would be better :) but anyway......that isn't only way to prove ownership. Email is admissible evidence in court FYI. I'm not saying it would automatically overrule a copyright, but IMO it should. As mentioned earlier, "timing is everything" (or should be).

Not that any of this matters, it's all academic. None of us are ever going to have our songs ripped off nor have need to prove ownership.
And yet you copyright anyway ;) Yeah, as you pointed out, the odds are slim, but there's always that chance.

That's how it is.
As has already been discussed and pointed out, no, it's not.

Whether or not loose or flakey attempts at proof may be acceptable doesn't really matter.
If you mean acceptable in court, obviously it does.
 
Nope. Fixed in tangible form simply means it is on some medium you can hold, like paper (as in sheet music or charts), a CD, tape, vinyl, etc. It means it isn't an idea in your head.

I am pretty sure an mp3 or a wav file is a fixed form for the purposes of copyright law in the US. Being able to hold it in your hand is an out-dated way of looking at it.

https://www.teachingcopyright.org/handout/copyright-faq

https://books.google.com/books?id=G...onepage&q=copyright MP3 a fixed form?&f=false
 
I am pretty sure an mp3 or a wav file is a fixed form for the purposes of copyright law in the US. Being able to hold it in your hand is an out-dated way of looking at it.

https://www.teachingcopyright.org/handout/copyright-faq

https://books.google.com/books?id=G...onepage&q=copyright MP3 a fixed form?&f=false

Sure. An electronic file is a form that's ok for copyright law. But that wasn't Chili's (and my earlier) point, which was that you can't copyright an idea in your head . . . you have to render that idea into a form that constitutes evidence.
 
I think the point people were making is that in most countries, copyright exists from the moment it's in your head, but until it's outside your head you have no evidence. Once the evidence exists, so does the rights to exploit it. If you use twenty four tracks to complete the work, each one of them is protected. If you release them, all you are really doing is giving them exposure - they still belong to you if you never release them!
 
I register. Maybe no one will want to buy my music ever again, but if a case did come about where I was going against a corporation, I would think that my registering would help my case a great deal. I think it comes down to whether you consider this a hobby or a viable profession.
 
Back
Top