Copyright mazes

[BentRabbit]

OK...
As soon as the song is put to paper/CD/tape/etc, copyright is established...
Registration of said copyright with Unka Sam is required before any infringement legalities can be pursued... (for the purpose of this thread, let's not go down the 'mail it to yourself/poor man copyright' path).

Form SR from Unka Sam is for us to register ownership of a sound recording, and from perusing these threads, seems to be the widely accepted method used by many folks...
In trying to understand the wording of the laws, when I register a 'phonorecord' of a collection of our songs, am I to understand that only the recordings (i.e. the actual 'sound' of the songs) is being registered? Meaning that, if we registered our CD, and someone ripped a song directly from the CD and used it in a movie/sample/video/commercial (not likely, but bear with me...) only then would infringement have occured? Or are the mechanics of each song on the CD protected/registered as well?

Adding to the mire:
Form SR asks for the names of all authors who contributed to the registered product (the final phonorecord).
Now, suppose there were four authors, but two of them (we'll call them 'John' and 'Paul' ) were authors of 80% of the music, 'George' collaborated with 'John' on 15%, and the other guy wrote the final 5%...
Per the registration form, will the Gubment (or a judge) view every song on the phonorecord as being owned by all four equally?
Or... (per the definition) since a copyright is in place as soon as the author creates it, would the 'who-wrote-what blurbs' in the linear notes (included in the now registered phonorecord package) be enough to prove individual authorship on the outside chance that things suddenly go awry in the who-wrote-what ranks...?

Sorry if this is convoluted... a direct result of trying to decipher the tides of copyright legalease out there...

Anyone got any experiences or know of someone who knew someone who knew someone...?

Thanks in advance...

 

[Rock Star 87]

first off, im not sure how that works, but i do know that u should copyright each track individually instead of the whole record. that way, each track is registered along with the album as a whole. that's what i do anyway. im not sure about john and paul, but if each track is copyrighted, then the whole album copyright is just for the master copies used for the final cut. if anyone knows, i would like to find out, how do i copyright the artwork.

 

[Rokket]

I'm not sure either. So far I have only copyrighted one song, and I was the only author. I am pretty sure that each person should be able to lay claim to what they did... you may want to consult a copyright lawyer about this. It's complicated...

 

[guitarhunny]

My understanding is that with the SR form you are only registering a sound recording and arrangement as one thing. If you want to copyright the music, lyric, recording and arrangement etc use the PA form. Just state exactly what you are registering in the required fields. That is how I did my copyright registration and it came back all right for me.

 

[philboyd studge]

If you want to register a copyright of a song that you or you and co-authors wrote, use form PA.

 

[BentRabbit]

Per the instructions at the copyright.gov site:

File Form SR if: The copyright claimant is the same for both the musical, dramatic, or literary work and for the sound recording, and you are seeking a single registration to cover both of these works.

File Form PA if: You are seeking to register only the musical, dramatic,
or literary work, not the sound recording.

If you are submitting Form SR to cover the recorded musical, dramatic, or literary work as well as the sound recording itself, it is important for space 2 to include full information about the various authors of all of the material covered by the copyright claim, making clear the nature of each author’s contribution.

Nature of Authorship: Sound recording authorship is the performance, sound
production, or both, that is fixed in the recording deposited for registration. Describe this authorship in space 2 as “sound recording.” If the claim also covers the underlying work(s), include the appropriate authorship terms for each author, for example, “words,” “music,” “arrangement of music,” or “text.”

Based on these instructions, I filled out Form SR and included all the required information...

Now it's hurry up and wait...

 

[BentRabbit]

I also came across (somewhere in all the mucky muck) that the Gubment views registered co-authors of the music/recording/etc. as being equal owners of the works registered... So if John wrote all 20 verses, and Paul only wrote the chorus, they are still 50/50 in the authorship rights.

 

[Rokket]

I also came across (somewhere in all the mucky muck) that the Gubment views registered co-authors of the music/recording/etc. as being equal owners of the works registered... So if John wrote all 20 verses, and Paul only wrote the chorus, they are still 50/50 in the authorship rights.

That's the way I understood it too. That's why guys that leave a band and go solo can still perform the songs they did as a band. I guess that could create problems, though, if it were to come down to a breakup.

 

[BentRabbit]

if anyone knows, i would like to find out, how do i copyright the artwork.

Per the instructions on form SR:

Generally, for the claim to cover both the sound recording and the underlying work(s), every author should have contributed to both the sound recording and the underlying work(s). If the claim includes artwork or photographs, include the appropriate term in the statement of authorship.

Hope this helps!

 

[philboyd studge]

Do you want to register the song or the recording? If it's the song and all it's potential applications, use form PA.

For instance, my last four projects have been compilations of historical songs and text in booklets with a cd. Even for this is still don't use form SR but instead go with form PA and TX. Besides, it's more fun being an author with ISBN numbers.