Anyone ever heard of sending songs to yourself for copyright?

[DAS19]

I read somewhere that people used to send songs to themselves to gain copyrights to their words I guess because it is cheaper then getting lawyer. Can anyone else explain and if this still works.

[DonF]

It's known as a "poor man's copyright".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_man's_copyright
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/fa...l.html#poorman

Don

edit: I don't recommend relying on this method. If you think your work is worth protecting, register your copyright with the appropriate authority for your country.

[DAS19]

Damn it doesn't work at all because it can be easily faked. They said somewhere in that article that sending an email with an electric time-stamp would be a more effective way.

[Peppercorn]

Here in Australia at least we do it by posting it by "Registered Post"

This way the Commonwealth Post Office has a history of it being sent and picked up.

If the post is sealed properly with Sticky tape and never opened it can be proven that you wrote the song by a certain date.

[up-fiddler]

...your music is here. If you can't afford the $45/song then settle for a compilation. If it is recorded then fill out a Form SR. Read their FAQ and most of your questions will be answered. Good luck.

[mikeh]

I agree with up-fiddler - I normally send in several songs as a compilation (if a song is actually picked up by a publisher or used in a film, etc - then I spend another $45 to copyright it as a stand alone work).

I have read of a few cases where the poor man's copyright did not hold up in a legal forum.

If you have a song you really think is good and have any plans to market that song - or even post it on line, etc - spend the money to properly copyright it.

[Carny1122]

This is so beacuse technically, if you physically mail a song to yourself, like on a CD, in a sealed envelope, it has a federal mark on it, and is thus "copyrighted". For use of evidence in a copyright infringement case, however, you CANNOT open the envelope. It must be sealed.

Ahhhhh, I hate my sister being a law teacher...I pick up useless stuff like this!

But yes, I guess it can be done. I'd rather just pay for the copyright and have it legitimately copyrighted.

[Tim Brown]

I don't know what it would cost you, but you could take it to a Notary before you mail it to yourself.

In all honesty, it's worth it in the US to send it in and get the legal copyright on it.



Tim

[Emusic]

I send to myself. I also get the envelope sealed, stamped and signed at the post office when I send it to avoid arguments like "well that could have been reopened, put a disc in it and closed.
But actually i´m more and more thinking of using Songguard, as I am a Masterwriter user.
Songguard is a database that stores lyrics, writer information and an MP3 file of the song itself and datestamps it. By request you can get a printout of a songs information.
More on Songguard at masterwriter.com

[songright]

I found that the form PA from the US Copywrite Office is great for only wanting to spend $45 per "album" versus per song. Just list the title of the work "Unpublished Collection", and then name the individual songs in the Previous or Alternative Title section. Not all of the forms have an area to list specific content such as songs so this one seems to be the best bet.

[DAS19]

Yeah but woudlnt checking with a lawyer be best because what if you then copyrighted the album as a whole and not the songs... If your going to go out of your way to copyright it you might as well do it the right way.

[songright]

Sure, you could contact a music attorney, but I found all of the information and instructions on the U.S. Copywrite Office's website. Gotta love the information age. This stuff isn't required to be blessed by ninjas or lawyers If you took the time to record and write it yourself, then you owe it to yourself to give it a chance and see if you can get it copywritten. If I hire an attorney, then he'd better submit some of my "copywrited" material to his "contacts". $45 for an Unpublished Collection of songs sure beats a few hundred dollar attorney's fee on this starving artist's budget any day! I need to sleep...gotta lay down some more cajon later today! Have a good one

[billyshuler]

The only thing a poor man's copywrite will do for you is prove ownership. That seems like that's what your goal is right. Not really, with an official copywrite you are entitled to damages and infringment penalties, and that money is much more than the $45 it costs you to get a copywrite. You're going to feel pretty silly going into court with a sealed envelope as the only proof that the song is yours. Maybe you'll be able to prove ownership(that's a big maybe) but you'll walk out of that courtroom with little to show for your efforts as well as lawyer fees. At least with a real copywrite you will rest assured that if somebody uses your song without compensating you that you will at least get x amount of dollars. Don't hold me to these numbers but I think it's an automatic $34,000 penalty for the infringer.

[Lt. Bob]

marking for later consumption

[Freddy]

- Double post -

[Freddy]

Just to be clear, all of your work is your copyright as soon as you have written it. There is no magic task you have to do to get copyright. You already have the copyright.

However, proving that you have copyright is another matter. This is where registration is so useful. The question is, what would a court accept as proof that you own the copyright?

Oh, also, if someone uses your registered copyrighted work without permission, and they get caught, they are required to pay you back royalties from the time they began using your work, as well as any future uses.

If you catch someone using your non-registered copyright work, you can only collect royalties from future use of the work after they have been notified by you of their plagiarism.

[DAS19]

Thats not to bad lol I could probably live with that. When I do self release my album ill start thinking about all this stuff more probably.

[Emusic]

Here is an interesting link on music plagiarism
Columbia Law School music plagiarism project