copyright question

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antispatula

antispatula

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I used to be totally on top of all this stuff.
When I released my album, I got each song individually copyrighted.
Had something to do with if my cd was "published," they had to all be individually copyrighted. Can anyone shed some light on this?

If I wanted to register 10 songs as "one work" and pay 45 bucks instead of 450 bucks, what are the pros and cons?

Thanks!
 
I'm not authorized to offer copyright advice to someone who may or may not check in again on this thread.



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Just to be clear, I am not a lawyer and cannot guarantee this info to be correct, but this is how I think it works: You can copyright a group of songs as a collection as long as you are the sole author. You would use the Short Form PA and then a Continuation sheet. You would name the collection something like "antispatulas' album" and then on the continuation sheet you would list "antispatulas' album" song name#1,"antispatulas' album" song name #2, "antispatulas' album" song name #3 etc...That way,if there is ever a dispute or the opportunity to liscence an individual song, you can refer to the collection and individual song title as a separate entity.

Before you officially release an album, you would probably want to copyright the "Sound Recording". This protects the actual recorded versions of the songs, and is a separate filing and separate form and you are issued a separate certificate.

FYI, The price for copyrighting is changing at the end of Oct. to include an extra dollar per song listed on the continuation sheet. It is still much more affordable than $45/song.

Please note, it is always best to check with the copyright office to confirm any questions.

Hope this helps some.
 
Copyrights on Groups of Songs

You only need to use the SR Form to copyright the sound recording AND all underlying material (unless it's published printed by a formal sheet music company). This saves a lot of money. Remember the copyright REGISTRATION is what you're doing and it's purpose is to document your rights in a formal PROVEABLE manner.

Anything you create is copyrighted by "common law " statues but you must PROVE that you created it before someone else. This is the function of the copyright REGISTRATION. Mailing it to yourself is NOT a reliable proof. I use to work for MCA MUSIC PUBLISHING and they don't register ANY of their works with the copyright office since they feel they're contracts can document its ownership.
dennyc765
 
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