Copyright Office copyright confirmation

A lot of people just simply don't understand the difference between creating a work that is automatically copyrighted, and REGISTERING a work for copyright.
It's far better to have your copyright registered and have the proof in the unlikely event someone does decide to steal it, than to not have anything at all. The law will only protect your copyrighted material if it is REGISTERED.
But you're right, some folks are just paranoid. Then again, you never know who is going to write the next "Stairway to heaven", or who will try to steal it before it's registered.


bd
 
sjjohnston said:
You know, topics similar to this one have come up enough times that it makes we wonder why people are so worried. In considering why someone might be so worried about protecting and "date stamping" his composition, two possibilities come to mind:

- He's scared a pirate is going to hear it (somewhere), record it, claim authorship and pocket millions (tens of thousands, anyway) in songwriter's royalties.

- He's scared that after he's legitimately earned tens of thousands (thousands, anyway) in artist's and songwriter's royalties, some pirate is going to claim authorship and demand payment.

How likely are either of these? I mean, really?

Maybe there are other possibilities I haven't considered. I suppose a third is that "our guy" is the pirate, and it's the second possibility in reverse.
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Amen, brother!


I think it comes down to just trying to be helpful instead of hurtful, albeit unintentional. It would just suck so bad to hear someone actually say it : Your stuff just isn't good enough to be stolen. Who would steal this? Frankly, the people who are successful don't need your help.


Yeah, that would just be too cruel.
 
I am from Ireland and have written and recorded a song that I would like to protect in the United States.
Can someone give me the address or website where I can get information on this subject.

Any help will be much appreciated.
 
DonF. Thanks a million for your advice, when you register do you automatically receive copyright payments, or do you have to apply to someone else.
 
Owning a work of intellectual property entitles you to receive payment for its use, just as owning a house entitles you to receive rent. A copyright establishes your ownership of the song. So no, you do not automatically receive payments. You have to market the tune and convince someone to use it. When they use it, you're entitled to be paid for that use.
 
This song has already been played extensively on Irish radio networks along the east coast of the United States after being sent to them by various people last year. Is there some central collection agency that takes on the automatic payments from radio stations?
I have the track marked with the copyright mark and inserted copyright control.
Maybe this was the wrong thing to do.

Your help has been of great value,
thanks again.
 
Its good to talk to someone who knows what they talking about.
I will check this out.
Thanks again.
 
bdbdbuck said:
In the future, send it registered mail with return receipt. That way you know it got there, and you have the return receipt. Personally, I'm glad I live close enough to just drive there.....lately though the place has been swarmin with cops! When is this code orange gonna end? There ain't no parking spaces on a normal day, much less when they have half the city shut down and barricaded. It's a nightmare.

bd
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Kinda makes ya wanna mail em a sample packet of Johnsons & Jonsons baby powder just to see the reaction eh?

hehehe

- Tanlith -
Webmaster: Super Loop Library
 
you can register your song or anyone else's, registering only proves in court that you registered it on a certain date. it doesn't mean you wrote it or didn't copy it. that stuff gets argued in court. you still have copyright in your original compositions even if you never register it, and you may still proove in court that you wrote it before someone else registered it, and that the other party copied it. the copyright office doesn't say you own the song, it says that you registered something that you claim you own at a certain date.
 
gtrplaya,

bdbdbuck and the others have given some very sound advice. If you use a registered return-receipt requested letter - with the music/claim information on the reverse side - it WILL stand up in court! But only if you have that very vital information inscribed! If you ever need to use it to defend your copyright claim, you’re in for one hell of a court ordeal because the damned lawyers haven’t a clue about what the firepower of registered receipted mail really is. Mainly because of the apparent contradiction of mailing to yourself - which is totally worthless.

But the incidences are TWO entirely different things. By law, who ever actually receives and receipts mail, specifically but not limited to copyrights, patents, trade marks, etcetera, is a due AGENT of that agency, and their signature/mark on a receipt describing the delivery will stand up in court. The problem with mailing to yourself is, the potential compromise of the package. A person could mail themselves a series of envelopes, let them stew for as long as necessary, and then insert a song sheet when ever they want. Can do. All it takes is a pair of knitting needles fused together at one end, slip the paperwork between the needles and wrap it around, insert the whole thing into the envelope via any corner opening, unwind and remove the needles. That’s why mail-to-yourself is worthless and the stamped receipt has weight.

There IS another way to protect your works … and it will support a copyright should there ever be a question other than obvious plagiarism. Get a copy NOTARIZED and then FILE IT WITH THE COUNTY CLERK! And what good is that? By law (again), documents filed with the County/Parish Clerk instantly become PUBLIC RECORD, and all courts, regardless of jurisdiction, MUST give them Judicial Notice! They cannot be suppressed from evidence. We’ve done it several times and ended jackass claims long before the expense of lawyer and courts. You will still need a copyright, but this little legal trick is a damned good stop-gap, especially if you need to move with your material. Motion picture re-writes, etcetera, are done this way all the time.

As for the Copyright Office, if you’re waiting for them, I hope you have some genes from Methuselah so you’ll live long enough! That place is loaded with the dumbest bunch of must-hires I’ve ever seen. We had a THREE YEAR fight because the dumb ass handling our claim didn’t know what a publishing company was - and kept sending it back! And this was BEFORE 9/11. When I finally had enough, I brought hell itself down on the Registrar & Cronies, and my paperwork turned around in about two hours following ignition.

TDA
 
Re: Re: Courier SVC

bdbdbuck said:
Courier service ain't such a bad idea! You mail yours, I'll drive mine. We'll see who ends up with the copyright office receipt first. That's something that can be faxed to the folks who use the service. Once you're at the copyright office, you're in and out in no time! Went today...12 minutes off the parking meter....damnit, I paid for an hour! I have my copyright office receipt right here. I also have a ticket for going left of center down at the bottom of the mountain!!!!!!

bdbdad
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Hey Dad!
Got my stuff back already! Took 7 months for the first submission...got my second submission back really fast. Must have been because they already had me registered. In about 3-6 months...I guess I will finally be in their web database. At least that is what I was told.
 
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