Specific Copyright Questions

[dadubwa]

This website has helped me out of a lot of jams when it came to recording, now I'm in a jam when it comes to publishing >.<. The roadblocks are never ending!

I've never published my music (for profit). I want to make sure my intellectual property is protected. I've been reading the U.S. Copyright Office website all day and I'm just completely overwhelmed trying to figure this whole Library of Congress copyright nonsense out. I could really use the assistance/advice of someone who's done this before.

I have 3 "collections" of music that I want to release between now and the fall (2011), I'm the sole owner of lyrics, arrangement, production, etc...
In order of release:
1)A single (digitally distributed for profit).
2)A 6-track EP (digitally distributed for profit).
3)A 12 or so-track LP currently not finished (digitally and physically distributed for profit).


Questions:

I cannot submit all 3 electronically for $34?
I have to submit all 3 collections separately?
I have to spend $35 per collection if I file these electronically?
The "mandatory deposit" obligation only exists for the LP (because of physical distribution)?
Therefore do I NEED to spend the $35 to electronically file the LP?
Do I need to submit my lyrics separately?

Am I getting this right? Anything I should know? Did I leave any significant information out? I know it's a lot of questions.

I'm in the business of finding the cheapest most efficient way of having my songs copyrighted, registered, and protected.

Thanks so much.

 

[mjbphotos]

Yes, all 3 'collections' must be done separately, unless you are going to group them as "Collection Name" #1, Collection Name #2 and Collection Name #3.
Yes, $35 per collection
The 'deposit' is an electronic (or physical) copy of the collection - you can snailmail in a CD copy, or upload an electronic (zipped MP3s in a single folder are best)
Yes, the $35 is required no matter how you submit the copy.
Lyric sheets are not needed.

Some people will tell you all you need to do is return-receipt-requested snail-mail a copy to yourself and don't open it, but that won't hold up in a court.

 

[dadubwa]

Thanks for the clarification on that mjbphotos.



As far as this "mandatory deposit" obligation goes, does anyone know anything about that?

What I'm referring to is the follow: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ50.pdf (page 5, bottom right)


"Although a copyright registration is not required, the Copyright Act establishes a mandatory deposit requirement for works published in the United States. In general, the owner of copyright or the owner of the exclusive right of publication in the work has a legal obligation to deposit in the Copyright Office within three months of publication in the United States two complete copies of the best edition. It is the responsibility of the owner of copyright or the owner of the right of first publication in the work to fulfill this mandatory deposit requirement. Failure to make the deposit can result in fines and other penalties but does not affect copyright protection. If applicable, a copy of the mandatory deposit notice must also be included with the submission."

Help :-/?

 

[Chili]

I'm no expert...

it looks like they changed the verbage a little in this circular to include electronic distribution. cool.

I cannot submit all 3 electronically for $34?

If it's three collections, it's three different filings. Three fees.

I have to submit all 3 collections separately?

I think you could wrap the single and the 6-song EP into one collection and register them. A mandatory deposit is required which you can do with a zipped file of the mp3's.

I have to spend $35 per collection if I file these electronically?

Yes. Is it $35 or $34?? Pretty sure it's $35.

The "mandatory deposit" obligation only exists for the LP (because of physical distribution)?

This is where I'm not so sure. I think (and again, no expert) mandatory deposits are required for 'published' material. They give a vague definition, but don't specifically say what is covered by the term 'Published'. I'm willing to bet it incudes digital uploads to sites like soundclick, myspace, itunes, etc. You are making your tunes available for public consumption whether you're selling, making a profit or just plain ol' giving them away. And it makes sense if they are to provide evidence in an infringement lawsuit that they need to have the registered versions on hand.

Therefore do I NEED to spend the $35 to electronically file the LP?

Yes.

Do I need to submit my lyrics separately?

No.

Am I getting this right? Anything I should know? Did I leave any significant information out? I know it's a lot of questions.

Here's what I do:

I file my collection of songs yearly. All songs I write during a one year period gets put into a collection. If I co-write (which I don't do anymore), I would have to file those songs separately with the co-writer. If I make a cd, I file that separately as a Sound Recording. I usually post my songs up on soundclick and consider them to be published because I make them available to the public.

If I write 20 songs in a year. All 20 get registered as one collection. I'll upload the songs to the copyright office electronically. If I pick 12 of those songs to go on a CD, the CD itself (not the songs) gets registered as a sound recording. I mail 2 copies of the cd to the copyright office.

All of this probably doesn't help. All I can say is register all your songs and your physical sound recordings and you're covered.

Don't sweat it too much... the only reason you're doing it is if you need the evidence in an infringement case in court. What are the chances of that happening?? (Well, if you co-write it might happen.)

 

[dadubwa]

Thanks for being super informative Chili.

What I'm reading in circular 7d is quite the contrary when it comes to digital works (http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ7d.pdf).
Check out the bottom of page 2. Apparently this was added February 24th 2010, just a year ago!
It looks like they'll request a mandatory deposit if need be?


Also, what exactly consist of a mandatory deposit? Has anyone here ever submitted a mandatory deposit? Does it cost more money?
It says you can file it online electronically (and I quote) "to save money".
..But then you have to ship out a physical copy to their specified address? Is that it?

It's all very confusing to say the least.
I wish I had the money to afford a copyright lawyer, but like you said Chili, I'm preparing for something that may never happen.
I just wanna make sure I OWN and REGISTER the rights to my songs .

Last question, registering both music + lyrics ='s a sound recording (SR)? Or a musical composition (PA)?

Thanks a bunch, guys.

 

[mjbphotos]

It says in that link above, that eCO filers (those who file online electronically) can submit certain files as the 'deposit' electronically, I believe that is all tha tis required - you do not have to send hard copies.

 

[Chili]

Right, like MJB says, you don't have to send a physical copy you can do everything online. I personally do only for the cd's. It's not another filing fee and you only have to pay postage. Mandatory means you have to send in a copy (electronically or mail).

If you file online and want to mail in a physical copy (like me), you will get a form to print out that will have the appropriate filiing number on it. Include that in the envelope with your cd's and they'll assign it to your registration when they receive it. It's pretty easy, you certainly don't need a lawyer or anyone else to do this for you.

The SR form is for sound recordings. There's a good explanation somewhere on their site. But it's basically the sequence of songs or sounds fixed in a cd, etc. An example, if you put 12 songs on a CD in a certain order, you would register the cd as a sound recording; not the songs themselves, just the cd. If you were to make another cd with all the songs in reverse order, you would have to register that as a new sound recording because the songs are in a different order. The songs themselves are already registered in your collection.

Another confusing caveat.... if you want, you can register all your songs on a cd using the SR form and claim the copyright ownership for the songs themselves as well as the sound recording. I'm afraid to bring it up because it can make it all more confusing. But there are cetain requirements to do that; like all the same writers/authors/whatevers...

Music + lyrics does not equal sound recording. Music+Lyrics=Song. The cd, phonograph, record, ep, lp, cassette, 8-track, etc, are sound recordings.

if it's still confusing, keep asking questions. I know it seems daunting at first, but once you get the ideaa, it's fairly straight forward.

 

[Chili]

What I'm reading in circular 7d is quite the contrary when it comes to digital works (http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ7d.pdf).
Check out the bottom of page 2. Apparently this was added February 24th 2010, just a year ago!
It looks like they'll request a mandatory deposit if need be?

Ah, hadn't seen this before. Very cool. Remember, these laws are written to cover more than music, songs and sound recordings. They have to cover newspapers, articles, books, poems, drama, etc... They are broader in definition and requirements than what might be necessary for a musician/songwriter. We have to weed through everything and find what applies to us.

Welcome to the site btw....

 

[sjjohnston]

The purpose of the mandatory deposit provision is to stock the Library of Congress for free. Depending on in what form your work is published, you may indeed be required to submit physical items. Your LP in CD form would, I think, need to be submitted physically, at least as the law now stands. You can combine the copyright registration with the physical deposit, or you can do it separately.

The mandatory deposit applies only to published works. It sounds like you are, indeed, planning to publish your CD within the meaning of the statute.

Failure to comply with the mandatory deposit provision doesn't affect your copyright - it just means that the government, theoretically, might fine you. Record companies and book publishers make mandatory deposits as a matter of ordinary course; bands who sell CD-ROMs at the door of their gigs, I suspect, rarely do. The likelihood of the feds swooping down and fining you verges on zero, I think. Then again, when humans have become extinct and aliens arrive and work through the Library of Congress' warehouses attempt to figure out what we were, don't you want your CD to be one of their clues?

 

[dadubwa]

HAHAHA sjjohnston! Thank you for the welcome Chili .

This is all just great information guys, I really appreciate it.
After endless days of printing, highlighting, and frequently visiting dictionary.com (Pseudonym? Really, we can't say alias anymore?),
I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

I'm going to copyright all 3 works separately.
I'm going to send a hard-copy of the LP (to be safe).
Everything else will be done using eCO.


I'm still a little unsure if I register my copyrights as sound recordings or musical compositions.
Sound recordings = the tangible form as a whole (example: a CD).
Musical Composition = the underlying pieces of the tangible form, like a song.

I'd love to be able to do both of these simultaneously, on the first page of Circular 56a it states that you can (http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ56a.pdf):

"Copyright in a sound recording is not the same as, or a substitute for, copyright in the underlying musical composition. Although they are separate works, a musical composition and a sound recording may be registered together on a single application if ownership of the copyrights in both is exactly the same. To register a single claim in both works, give information about the author(s) of both the musical composition and the sound recording"

"Give information about the author" seems vague... they really left me hangin' there.

 

[Chili]

I'm still a little unsure if I register my copyrights as sound recordings or musical compositions.
Sound recordings = the tangible form as a whole (example: a CD).
Musical Composition = the underlying pieces of the tangible form, like a song.

I'd love to be able to do both of these simultaneously, on the first page of Circular 56a it states that you can (http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ56a.pdf):

"Copyright in a sound recording is not the same as, or a substitute for, copyright in the underlying musical composition. Although they are separate works, a musical composition and a sound recording may be registered together on a single application if ownership of the copyrights in both is exactly the same. To register a single claim in both works, give information about the author(s) of both the musical composition and the sound recording"

"Give information about the author" seems vague... they really left me hangin' there.

Yeah, this is what I mentioned earlier and thought it can be confusing. To save money, you should do it this way. The one requirement is that the ownership of the copyrights have to be the same for every song. However, you said you did it all yourself, everything, so that fulfills that requirement.

Give information about the author... I'm not looking at the form, but I think they want is what you contributed to the material... ie, lyrics by one person, music by another.... if you wrote all the songs by yourself, you can write words and music by dadubwa.

If you are registering your songs independant of a cd, as in a collection, then you would register them as PA. If you are going to register your CD and underlying songs, then use the SR. That would be one filing and $35 fee would cover the CD itself and all songs on that cd. Mailing in the CD is free, except postage of course. Aaaand, if you're publishing your songs, you'll have to mail in 2 cd's. Oh, did you say LP?? same procedure. For real, you're going to do vinyl??

For clarification; tangible form basically means anything not in your head. lol.... like if you wrote a song on paper, or recorded it to tape, computer, cd, vinyl.... anything that can retain the song for others to read, hear, interpret, etc... (my layman definition!!! )

 

[dadubwa]

Just a quick update guys, I sent my applications out on the eCO last night, thanks so much for all the help, you've made this process less of headache .

 

[miroslav]

I did 10 songs (individually) two years ago when I was finishing up my last album.
Didi it all electronically...uploaded the audio files...etc....got my certificates about 6 months later.

Snailmail could take a year or more....