Copyright question

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dan.
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Dan.

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Is there just a simple way your average Joe can get a copyright on their music? Like what's the simplest way of doing this, or even any of the possible ways?

Also, how does your average Joe cover a song and release it to the public (in a profit or non-profit way) without getting into any legal trouble?
 
submit the song to copyright.gov that "Poor Man's" copyright doenst work today
 
Thanks both for the responses. If or once I get to the stage where I want to do this, then I might have some more questions.
 
technically the mere fact that you write a song gives you the copyright.
So the only thing you're trying to accomplish is being able to prove that you wrote it which is what registering the copyright is all about.

Go to the site mentioned above .... it's pretty simple ..... last time I did it it was 45 bucks I believe.
 
Dan. said:
Is there just a simple way your average Joe can get a copyright on their music? Like what's the simplest way of doing this, or even any of the possible ways?

Also, how does your average Joe cover a song and release it to the public (in a profit or non-profit way) without getting into any legal trouble?
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They have an all-electronic submission process now....I used it to submit a bunch of songs for copyright when it was first out as a pilot program about 3-4 years ago. It's a little less expensive and faster than hard-copy, but still takes a long time to get the certs back (they are VERY slow in the Copyright Office)....though you are covered the minute you submit.

On the one hand, if you never plan to release anything publicly, and I don't mean just a major record deal, but even if you plan to never put out anything on the Internet (You Tube, etc)...then you almost don't need to bother with registering. But like most folks these days....you'll probably end up posting it online somewhere at the least level...and in that case I would register. It's a looooooooong shot that someone will steal your music, but it's better to be safe.

AFA recording and then *releasing* publicly a cover song....you need to go through the mechanical rights agencies (Harry Fox Agency, etc.) and/or performing right societies (ASCAP, BMI, etc) so they can track it. I've never done that, so I don't know the exact process or if there are any fees involved.
 
Last time I checked, eCopyright gave you a window of 6 months to add new songs to a collection for the same $35 (or whatever it is) fee. So if you release a lot of songs, it's probably worth thinking of it as a running $70 a year expense that you deal with.
 
VomitHatSteve said:
Last time I checked, eCopyright gave you a window of 6 months to add new songs to a collection for the same $35 (or whatever it is) fee. So if you release a lot of songs, it's probably worth thinking of it as a running $70 a year expense that you deal with.
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why 70 a year?
It's a one time charge.
 
Chili said:
Might work in the UK, but in the US, you need to register with the Copyright office. A judge in an infringement case should only be looking at that registration to determine copyright ownership.
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I read that pretty much all countries with copyright law hold that copyright is automatically owned by the author. Therefore, it's a simple case of proving authorship, which can be done by digital fingerprinting (it's essentially an MD5 checksum of the file contents + a timestamp, I'm guessing). I haven't looked up the US's specific rules, however.
 
jonny deep said:
I read that pretty much all countries with copyright law hold that copyright is automatically owned by the author. Therefore, it's a simple case of proving authorship, which can be done by digital fingerprinting (it's essentially an MD5 checksum of the file contents + a timestamp, I'm guessing). I haven't looked up the US's specific rules, however.
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From what I understand, you're technically right. Technically, one could go into litigation with a lawyer and hard drive full of your raw master tracks including time and date stamps and prove authorship. That's the hard and expensive way though. A copyright certificate is the foolproof easy way.
 
jonny deep said:
I read that pretty much all countries with copyright law hold that copyright is automatically owned by the author.
Click to expand...
That part is true.
Therefore, it's a simple case of proving authorship
Click to expand...
That part is true.

which can be done by digital fingerprinting (it's essentially an MD5 checksum of the file contents + a timestamp, I'm guessing).
Click to expand...

According the US Copyright office, there are no laws on the books that allow a judge to use anything other than the US Copyright office registry to determine ownership. Like the question of mailing a song to yourself to get the postal stamp; in the UK, that might be acceptable (I've heard that it is) in the US, it won't work. A judge shouldn't allow it if someone tried.

However, it really comes down to what a judge would decide if a case were presented to him. I bet he won't brazen new ground when there is already a well established precedence.... but I'm not a lawyer. :p
 
You have to have a dated sample of the recording in the copyright office to be protected. If a lawsuit arises, your file can be pulled with the song and the date. Concrete proof. Your word against there's is worthless.

To save money, get together several songs and file as a compilation. Then you'll pay only around $2-3 a song depending on how many songs you include.

You have to contact the publishing company that has the rights to the song. They have to give you written permission.
 
Lt. Bob said:
why 70 a year?
It's a one time charge.
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That's if you release a lot of songs throughout the year. I may not have expressed it clearly.

e.g. if you're putting up song each week or so on YouTube, you'd file a new eCopyright collection every 6 months for your new material.
 
Dan. said:
Will this do the trick? It definitely seems like the easiest way to go about it.
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Again, it wouldn't be useful in a US court as no judge is going to use that website as proof of copyright registration. They have to base their decisions on law and there is no law that allows for 3rd party registration in the US.

After looking over that website, it makes me suspicious. In the terms of service, two things pop up that I find weird; 1) They mention bandwidth limitations and extra fees for exceeding them. Why would they put that in the TOS? 2) They talk about "paying customers", so that means the service isn't free, yet no where do they mention pricing. I'm willing to bet you find out about their rate schedules AFTER you sign up. That seems shady to me. Why can't they be upfront about pricing??

Not that any of this matters.... No one here is going to have copyright infringements, or at least not to the point where you're taking someone to court over it.

And lastly, it isn't difficult to register your copyright with the US Copyright office.
 
Chili said:
Again, it wouldn't be useful in a US court as no judge is going to use that website as proof of copyright registration. They have to base their decisions on law and there is no law that allows for 3rd party registration in the US.

After looking over that website, it makes me suspicious. In the terms of service, two things pop up that I find weird; 1) They mention bandwidth limitations and extra fees for exceeding them. Why would they put that in the TOS? 2) They talk about "paying customers", so that means the service isn't free, yet no where do they mention pricing. I'm willing to bet you find out about their rate schedules AFTER you sign up. That seems shady to me. Why can't they be upfront about pricing??

Not that any of this matters.... No one here is going to have copyright infringements, or at least not to the point where you're taking someone to court over it.

And lastly, it isn't difficult to register your copyright with the US Copyright office.
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Mmm. Earlier in my recording career, before I quite realised how uninterested the general public and labels, etc., were in my poxy little songs, I used this free fingerprinting service, jut in case. Now, when I try to find the copyright entry in their DB, it's not there.

So, I'd avoid this service if proving your copyright is really worth it.
 
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