how to copyright instrumentals

[Takamine Jo]

Can someone tell me how to copyright instrumental tunes when you can't read music?
In other words you have nothing written on paper. I just have some recordings of some songs I've written in my head. I have them CD.
Thanks!

[Blue Bear Sound]

Actually, only melody can be copyrighted... the arrangement surrounding it, is not considered copyright-worthy unless it is deemed exceptionally unique.

At least, that's how the books read last time I looked -- who knows these days!

[Toonsmith]

Hey Joe, all you have to do is download the forms from the copyright office -

www.copyright.gov

Then collect all the pieces you want to copyright on a CD. The form says you have to send in a copy or a phonorecord along with the copyright form and a $30 fee. A copy or phonorecord is a tape, disk, or cassette. It does'nt have to be in sheet music form. The PA (performing arts) form is for the underlying musical compostion, and the SR form is for the actual sound recording itself. What's nice is you can send them like a collection of songs and still just pay the $30 fee.

I just use the PA form for now. It protects the song when I'm preforming it on stage. When I do record the CD for good then I'll send in my SR form to protect just the recording. If you are that far along then I would suggest that you just use the SR form. The SR form protects both the underlying work and the sound recording.

[Taylor_214]

BTW, does anyone know if the US copyright office will process and register stuff from Canadians?

[Dopps]

A cheap way to do it is by sending the cd to yourself by registered post. Once you get this and it'll have been postmarked with the date just keep it (Don't open it) and this is proof that ,if you ever need to prove, the music is your's.

[Toonsmith]

Originally Posted by Dopps

A cheap way to do it is by sending the cd to yourself by registered post. Once you get this and it'll have been postmarked with the date just keep it (Don't open it) and this is proof that ,if you ever need to prove, the music is your's.

Sorry to tell you this, but the 'poor mans copyright' does not stand up in court. There seems to be some misinformation around here. If you want to make absolute, positive, concrete proof that the song is yours go to the Library of Congress and register there.

Some one here on this site had a thread where it showed several cases in which the guy who said he wrote the song and produced the letter with the postmark on it, lost his case. Now if you want to do it that way, fine. But for $30 why not do it the right way and protect yourself.

[Bianchi Joe]

It's true that the "poor man's copyright" trick of mailing it to yourself is fraught with uncertainty at best. However, given that the odds of someone liking your material enough to steal it are pretty low, it's difficult to justify forking over 30 clams to the US copyright office every time you write a song. Even more remote is the likelihood that someone would be able to make enough money off of your song to be worth suing, but hey, you never know! That said, it's still silly to not copyright your material if you're putting it out where anyone can access it. If you don't want to go the legal route, by all means mail yourself a copy. Load a copy onto your hard drive and be sure that it's dated. Pass copies around to friends who will attest that you gave it to them on a given date. In other words, do everything you can to protect yourself at the financial level you're best able to afford. But be realistic about it. IMHO, if you're just passing out a home-made demo to your friends or a local club owner, spend the 30 bucks on something more tangible. If you are seriously releasing material over the Internet, radio or retail, not only should you get it copyrighted, but it's also wise to register the performance rights for your song as well. This protects you from other people playing your song live, and passing it off as an original. Most of us would probably be flattered if someone thought our songs were good enough to play, but that doesn't mean someone else should profit from your talent and work! The performance copyright symbol is a captial 'P' with a circle around it. I put one of those on every disc I make, even the one-offs, along with the © symbol, the year, and the words "All Rights Reserved." Like a previous poster noted, a written version of the song isn't necessary. I believe the form the copyright office uses is called the 'SR' form, for "sound recording."

[jalbert]

Originally Posted by Taylor_214

BTW, does anyone know if the US copyright office will process and register stuff from Canadians?

Only if it's written on maple leaves. Or maybe your pen has to be filled with maple syrup. I can't remember.

[Toonsmith]

Hell, I would'nt even pay $30 per song. I just send in an entire collection of songs. Well, at least a CD's worth of them. The LOC lets you send in a whole projects worth. In fact the first copyrights I sent away for had somewhere between 16 to 18 songs on it. So it's not on a per song basis.