Copyrighting one song at a time vs a collection

  • Thread starter Thread starter twangbuck
  • Start date Start date
T

twangbuck

New member
So are the legal protections the same if I copyright a collection of songs vs one song at a time? I'm referring to copyrighting the songs themselves rather than the finished recordings. This is with the US copyright office by the way.
 
The legal protections are the same. Note that there are two separate protectable forms of expression involved when you talk about registering recordings, the song itself and the recording of the song.
 
Thanks! I was concerned because when I filled out the online copyright form, it didn't provide a field to enter each individual song title, just the overall collection title. So the certificate I got didn't include the names of each individual song. Is that something I should be concerned about?
 
I'm sorry, the what? Not sure what the deposit copy is. Is that something I can request from the copyright office?
 
When you register a copyright, you have to provide a deposit copy of the work that you're registering which goes into the Library of Congress. For music, it can be a recording or sheet music.
 
If you do the electronic copyright - as I recall from last time I did it a few months back - when you upload your reference copy (mp3s of the recording as PTravel alluded to), you also enter all of the song titles.
 
If you register a collection of your songs on a burned CD be mindful to include sheet music. Otherwise your burned CD might not be readable in 10 years. The best and most affordable solution is the electronic copyright registration with your songs in mp3 format.
 
i'm relatively new to copyrighting music, so what process does one follow to do this? does this have to be done for multiple countries?
 
Are you in the US? Go to the US Copyright Office website (U.S. Copyright Office) and it will tell you everything you need to know. Basically, you fill out the appropriate form, either on-line or hard-copy, send in a deposit copy along with a check, and you'll receive a Certificate of Copyright back in the mail. As for registering in other countries, the answer is: it depends. If they're Berne Convention signatories, it's most likely not necessary, but you may be limited as to remedies for infringement.
 
do you have to register copyrights in individual countries?

PTravel said:
Are you in the US? Go to the US Copyright Office website (U.S. Copyright Office) and it will tell you everything you need to know. Basically, you fill out the appropriate form, either on-line or hard-copy, send in a deposit copy along with a check, and you'll receive a Certificate of Copyright back in the mail. As for registering in other countries, the answer is: it depends. If they're Berne Convention signatories, it's most likely not necessary, but you may be limited as to remedies for infringement.
Click to expand...
 
Protocall said:
do you have to register copyrights in individual countries?
Click to expand...
It depends. If the work was not created in that country AND the country is a Berne signatory, no. However, some countries, including the US, limit the recovery available without registration.
 
How cool is that: They take mp3! Back in the day I sent in cassettes. Progress!
 
Your songs legally belong to you as soon as you've composed them. Copyrighting is the way to go to be safe, but the law is clear: even if you haven't copyrighted your songs officially with the US Copyright Office, your songs still belong to you. This is why I encourage songwriters who are hobbyists and whose songs are, to put it euphemistically, not in danger of being stolen, to not bother with the process.
 
Steve Millikan said:
This is why I encourage songwriters who are hobbyists and whose songs are, to put it euphemistically, not in danger of being stolen, to not bother with the process.
Click to expand...

Assume you mean if these songwriters do not play their songs in public or do not put versions of their songs out on the internet. Obviously if no one hears a song, then it can't be stolen!
 
Steve Millikan said:
Your songs legally belong to you as soon as you've composed them. Copyrighting is the way to go to be safe, but the law is clear: even if you haven't copyrighted your songs officially with the US Copyright Office, your songs still belong to you. This is why I encourage songwriters who are hobbyists and whose songs are, to put it euphemistically, not in danger of being stolen, to not bother with the process.
Click to expand...
Sorry, Steve, but you're wrong on a number of points.

First, your songs don't "belong" to you, i.e. aren't protected by copyright, until they are "fixed in a tangible medium," which means written down, recorded, saved as a MIDI file, or some other form of fixation. Second, you won't be able to stop someone from using your stolen songs unless you have registered the copyright; a copyright is a prerequisite for an infringement suit (with a couple of exceptions, none of which are relevant here). Third, a copyright registration is prima facie proof that you own the song, as well as when you created it.

Copyright registration is inexpensive and easy to do -- no lawyer required, and it can be done on-line. Particularly in this age of internet sharing by, for example, posting songs on this website, it is foolish to not protect your creative expression.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top