copyright b4 mp3?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Yadi
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I dont blame ya James, the only reason alot of my stuff is copyrighted is I sent about 20 songs at once....evrything Ive written since is not copyrighted....Id post here b4 it was...if someone thought enough of my songs to rip them off id be flattered.....
 
I'm glad that many of you guys/ladies are getting it. My rantings weren't really not to say that one should copyright every tune the moment that they think of it. Money IS an issue and not everyone can spend $30 on every song like a major label or independently wealthy songwriter can. But given all of this, it is a wise thing for independent writers to at least put all songs on a cassette (even in a rough form) and PA copyright if they are doing anything public with the songs.

The bottom line, for me, is just don't talk that nonsense about mailing stuff to yourself. It Does NOt hold up in court. Lawyers laugh when they hear creators/authors/composers talking about this stuff. Your song is no more protected with mailing a certified copy to yourself than it is if you were able to verify the date of creation with a witness(check the case law). I just don't want to see folks go around having false hopes, because we all know that the best way with the most protection is to simply file an official copyright registration.

Rev E
 
Poor Man's Copyright

I don't see why using registered mail wouln't hold up as a copyright, people in other industries use this method also. Maybe Lawyers would laugh at it, but the judge wouldn't! Are you saying that Taxman's suggestion is falso, we need methods that have held up in court previously. As for $30 to register an "official" government copyright, well they can dream on that's an outrage and besides i'm piss poor broke.
 
This excerpt is from the Government

HOW TO SECURE A COPYRIGHT
Copyright Secured Automatically upon Creation
The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood. No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright. (See following Note.) There are, however, certain definite advantages to registration. See "Copyright Registration."

Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is "created" when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time. "Copies" are material objects from which a work can be read or visually perceived either directly or with the aid of a machine or device, such as books, manuscripts, sheet music, film, videotape, or microfilm. "Phonorecords" are material objects embodying fixations of sounds (excluding, by statutory definition, motion picture soundtracks), such as cassette tapes, CDs, or LPs. Thus, for example, a song (the "work") can be fixed in sheet music (" copies") or in phonograph disks (" phonorecords"), or both.

If a work is prepared over a period of time, the part of the work that is fixed on a particular date constitutes the created work as of that date.
 
And i other countries the copyright doesn't even matter!

INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT PROTECTION
There is no such thing as an "international copyright" that will automatically protect an author's writings throughout the entire world. Protection against unauthorized use in a particular country depends, basically, on the national laws of that country. However, most countries do offer protection to foreign works under certain conditions, and these conditions have been greatly simplified by international copyright treaties and conventions. For further information and a list of countries that maintain copyright relations with the United States, request Circular 38a, "International Copyright Relations of the United States."
 
Ok, Royston, heres the deal...you write a song in 1998, automatically securing the copyright by definition...somebody steals it from you in 1999, REGISTERS the copyright, records it, and has a hit....who is gonna win in court?...and "You will have to resister, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for an infringement of a US work"....

Also, there are over 100 countries that do honor our copyrights, as we honor theirs...

Check out 13,14, and 56....

http://www.loc.gov/copyright/faq.html#q14
 
Thanks for the clarification

Thanks for the clarification Gidge. :)
 
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