one little copyright question

R

Red Dog Studios

Member
Hey everybody, the band im in started recording our album the other week and when we get done we plan on sending it off to diskmakers for a lot of copies and all that good stuff. And i want to have all the songs i wrote copyrighted (well duh). But this is were my question comes in, That old trick where u record all the songs, write down the lyrics and make something that says that you wrote the song on such and such a date, then mail it to yourself..........will that really work?

I mean i see where it would prove that you had written the song on a certain date, but will it hold up in court? and all that other legal stuff?

Thanks a lot for your time
 
Last edited:
i dont think that posting yourself your own material is a 100% full proof method of copyrighting your work. To be on the safe side i would register it with the U.S. copyright office, it is relatively easy to do (google it, they have a website) and for a one off fee of about $30 i think you can register a lot of tunes and lyrics at once.
 
Mailing stuff to yourself is meaningless in court. Registering your copyright with the government grants you certain privileges in court. What matters the most (after registration) is having proof of how and when you created the work. That's what will be pulled into court if you ever end up there. So save handscribbled notes (dated), workfiles, demo tapes, studio receipts, names of people, photos, what have you. Your attorney will thank you (if you ever have that problem - most folks never do). And if the music is worth creating, it's worth registering, so do the copyright.
In the US: http://www.copyright.gov/
 
ok i think yall have convenced me. i'm spending alot of time and money on this cd so i should be on the safe side when it comes to copyrightin. i'll get them copyrighted. thanks alot.
 
Last edited:
since you guys are on the topic...If the songs i write and then perform over instrumental produced by my producer, how would i go about at least getting copyrights of my lirics? or would i get copyrights of the final sound recordings under me and the producers name...which i wouldn't like to do...or sending the recording, is there anyways to specify that the copyrights i want to register is the actual lirics?

I went to the site and they have sound recording copyrights. Would that be what i want? or do i have to send paper w. lirics? or maybe just the recorded accapellas of my different songs?

Thanks in advance!
 
its a bit different from the uk copyright service that i use but i think you would want to register your lyrics as a performing arts work....probably using Short Form PA.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top