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sparky123
Member
how do i go about copyrighting an original song?
Atkron205
Member
Legalzoom is one way. I did my corporation through them and it was cheap and fairly easy. They also do music.
Protect what is yours. Register for Copyright Protection | LegalZoom.com
DM60
Well-known member
My understanding is, you go the the government web site, up load a song or a body of work, pay the fee. Done until litigation is required. I don't think any legal service is required. Here is a reference: http://copyright.gov/circs/circ50.pdf
Pinky
and The Brain...
Your original music is considered yours as soon as you create it. If you plan to distribute it digitally then registering with BMI (which you should be for royalty tracking anyway) would effectively time stamp its creation. Additionally, keeping a burned disc of the original tracks and stowing that away in a safe guarantees any future legal action will result in your favor. [mailing it to yourself and leaving the delivered envelope sealed is an additional safeguard as described in the link below]
The government registration thing is 'new' and a money grab. Legally you do not need the government copyright office stamp to prove its your work.
How to Copyright a Song for Free: 6 Steps (with Pictures)
John Willett
Circle Sound Services
What country? it makes a difference.
Though legally (as has been said) your original music is considered yours as soon as you create it - but you need to prove it.
DM60
Well-known member
This is really the main focus for many. To prove it is yours and when it was created.
TimN
New member
Go online and get registered for your ISRC codes. Search "ISRC code" and do it. It's free, and the first place you should go.
mjbphotos
Moderator
Search these forums and you'll find tons of discussions on the 'do it yourself' copyrighting (dated copies, mailed copies, etc). If you're in the US, the fee is $35 for 1 song or a whole album's worth at one time. If you actually believe someone could steal your song(s) and make big bucks on them, then official copyright registration may be the one sure thing in a court of law. A lot depends on how good YOUR lawyers are against the person's that you're suing.
John Willett
Circle Sound Services
ISRC codes are for the record company - each different mix will have a different ISRC code.
The record company has to be registered and the code is for when the music is released.
This is not a good idea for copyrighting music.
rob aylestone
Moderator
Concur 100% with John - no point unless your distribution requires it (or you want to sell on Amazon etc) It's also more to do with the record company (recording) side, and not to do with the composer's rights. If you wrote and recorded your own song, that's two separate copyrights to control. Certainly in the UK, there is no need to pay anything to control the rights in a composition and/or recording. We even now have an online court system for intellectual property cases.
As John said, in most jurisdictions, copyright is formed immediately a product is created. All the systems who charge you do is provide a framework to generate reliable and robust evidence that you can use in court in case of a dispute. This is where the often quoted "mail it to yourself" process comes from. This system is nowadays frequently claimed to be old fashioned, out of date and unacceptable, but this is misleading. The purpose of the mail it to yourself system is simply to provide a verifiable piece of evidence. Nowadays, it is even easier to forensically prove that a packaging has not been opened. It will be date stamped by the postal service, with a sign for signature. In any court case, if the content of the packet would support one party, the other party would be able to have the packet inspected professionally to prove the validity of the content - then it would be opened in court and the comparison process started. In many cases, the presence of the unopened envelope serves to discourage continuation of the case. The copyright holder knows what is inside. The other side hopes the evidence simply doesn't exist. Despite many current opinions, nothing has changed with the status of the packet - it is still perfectly valid evidence. Forensics is more solid than ever before, so as an evidence source it's still cheap enough to do. The real arguments come from convincing a non-musical judge that it's the same thing!
As John said, in most jurisdictions, copyright is formed immediately a product is created. All the systems who charge you do is provide a framework to generate reliable and robust evidence that you can use in court in case of a dispute. This is where the often quoted "mail it to yourself" process comes from. This system is nowadays frequently claimed to be old fashioned, out of date and unacceptable, but this is misleading. The purpose of the mail it to yourself system is simply to provide a verifiable piece of evidence. Nowadays, it is even easier to forensically prove that a packaging has not been opened. It will be date stamped by the postal service, with a sign for signature. In any court case, if the content of the packet would support one party, the other party would be able to have the packet inspected professionally to prove the validity of the content - then it would be opened in court and the comparison process started. In many cases, the presence of the unopened envelope serves to discourage continuation of the case. The copyright holder knows what is inside. The other side hopes the evidence simply doesn't exist. Despite many current opinions, nothing has changed with the status of the packet - it is still perfectly valid evidence. Forensics is more solid than ever before, so as an evidence source it's still cheap enough to do. The real arguments come from convincing a non-musical judge that it's the same thing!
joey2000
New member
Technically perhaps, but not really. As stated by someone else, you need to be able to prove you created it.
Nope. Anyone can burn a disc and say they did it first.
This one is true
Another way is emailing it to yourself.
rob aylestone
Moderator
emailing is not the same - it's a fairly easy task to edit the headers to make the email appear to have been sent before it really has. Same thing with metadata. The beauty of the mail it system is because it enables dating beyond the level of doubt required by a court.
mjbphotos
Moderator
One advantage of government copyrighting compared to 'mailing it to yourself: the record is offical, can be accessed online, you don't need to keep a copy of it somewhere safe. Mail a package to yourself, with signed-delivery (cost will not be that much less than the $35 for US copyright) and you've then got to keep the package stored safely, and hope the paper inside doesn't rot/get wet, the CD doesn't burn through its layers over time, etc.
Granted that copyright suits don't often get media coverage (unless they get big like the Led Zep-Randy CXalifornia Stairway suit), but I've never heard of anyone winning a suit because of the 'unopened mail package' as proof.
Granted that copyright suits don't often get media coverage (unless they get big like the Led Zep-Randy CXalifornia Stairway suit), but I've never heard of anyone winning a suit because of the 'unopened mail package' as proof.
jimistone
long standing member
jimistone
long standing member
I seriously seriously seriously doubt very many songs, written by average joes, are being stolen.
I'm not saying it has never happened but IMO it would be an extremely rare thing.
I'm not saying it has never happened but IMO it would be an extremely rare thing.
mjbphotos
Moderator
Since when? Still shows as $35 (for single author) HERE. I think its more if you do it by paper and hard copy rather than electronically.
Chili
Site Moderator
Mailing to yourself is not a recognized method of proving ownership in the US. If it were ever go to court, the judge would need to base a decision on law and no law mentions the mail thing. Copyright.gov advises against it in a roundabout way to avoid providing legal advice (which I guess they can't do).
In other countries, mailing it to yourself is a valid method, as those in the UK have pointed out on numerous occasions on this site.
The best thing to do is what MJB said. Submit online. Do your whole album at once so you pay the fee only one time. It's a simple process.
Copyright first, then register at BMI (they'll ask if you copyrighted during registration.) If you make a CD, get ISRC codes for each song and a bar code for the CD.
Then sell sell sell. Make lots o' money.
In other countries, mailing it to yourself is a valid method, as those in the UK have pointed out on numerous occasions on this site.
The best thing to do is what MJB said. Submit online. Do your whole album at once so you pay the fee only one time. It's a simple process.
Copyright first, then register at BMI (they'll ask if you copyrighted during registration.) If you make a CD, get ISRC codes for each song and a bar code for the CD.
Then sell sell sell. Make lots o' money.
Chili
Site Moderator
Again, it depends on what country you're in.... however, I will not follow any advice from some idiot posting up on wikihow.com. LOL
Pinky
and The Brain...
Well, I agree with you (about wikihow) but as far as I know the advice is valid, even here in the states.
Regarding what you're sending, there's time stamps on the written digital data. That with the sealed envelope, and the fact you may have other evidence amounts to a significant sum of parts in your favor.
Jimistone is right though, it would almost be more flattery than legal nightmare if someone famous stole your work [I say famous because why bother with the expense of suing some poor slob?]. The odds are so slim I don't even worry about it. I just keep copies burned and in a fireproof safe in case the house burns down.
jimistone
long standing member
I think if you posted an mp3 of song in a forum, like the mp3 clinic, along with written lyrics and a (copyright 2015 "your name here"). It would be convincing proof that it's your song, IF, you claimed someone infringed upon your copyright later. it's not as solid as having your copyright registered with the library if congress, but I believe it would certainly be far more persuasive than a letter mailed to yourself, that could be steamed open after you received it. It would be illrefutable proof that you had access to the song, and made claim of ownership earlier than the one you are claiming violated your copyright.