More Copyright Questions

[Trotter]

I have a song on Youtube which I have already copyrighted. An internet friend of mine has asked permission to use my song in a video of her sketches. If I give her permission to use my song, is the ownership of my music at risk in any way? I am thinking about giving her permission to use it as long as it is for her personal use, and not a commercial or money making project. Any risk involved in that kind of deal?

 

[sonnnnyy56]

copyright's ALL yours

no problem mate,once you copyright a song you can let other people sing it all over the place,the more the better! Get it around ,maybe the right ears will hear it !! Just don't sign anything without a lawyer!!! G-luk

 

[gecko zzed]

copyright remains with the author/composer

Once you create a musical piece, you own the copyright*, and the only time you lose copyright is if you explicitly sign this over to someone else. Giving permission for someone to use the song does not constitute a change in copyright ownership. As sonnnnyy56 says, the exposure could do you good and don't sign away ownership.

* There are exceptions. For example, if you are commissioned to right, say, a jingle, the commisioner usually retains the copyright. There are a number of other instances like this.

 

[up-fiddler]

Once you create a musical piece, you own the copyright*, and the only time you lose copyright is if you explicitly sign this over to someone else. Giving permission for someone to use the song does not constitute a change in copyright ownership. As sonnnnyy56 says, the exposure could do you good and don't sign away ownership.

* There are exceptions. For example, if you are commissioned to right, say, a jingle, the commisioner usually retains the copyright. There are a number of other instances like this.

As the gekko zzed says, Work for Hire is one of the few exceptions. Go ahead and give permission but insist that you be given credit where any and all who hear it can see who wrote the tune. Then if someone needs to find you they can easily do so. Good luck with the tune.

 

[Trotter]

I appreciate all for the information. I just wanted to make sure before I gave her the ok. Anyone heard of the new bill that's called the Orphaned Works Bill? It hasn't passed yet, but after watching the video about it on YouTube it made me a little uneasy about having my stuff of the internet.

Thanks again, I'm not paraniod, it's just that everyone's out to get me, lol.

 

[gecko zzed]

couple of quick thoughts . . .

1 The points made earlier about copyright still apply

2 Don't believe everything you see on the net. Specially on Youtube

3 But even if it is all true . . . so what?

I say 'so what' because:

1 Is your composition of such dazzling Lennon/McCartney-ish brilliance that people are going to desperately want to claim it as theirs?

2 Should it be so, and should they do so, are you not able to create another?

I once said to a friend that I would loved to be ripped off to the tune of a million dollars . . . should that happen you would get the feeling that you had kind of made it!

You may guess that I don't think it is worth worrying about, and you would be right. I put up tracks on garage band and other places, and I really don't care what happens to them. I'm not making money from them now, nor am I really losing anything (specially sleep) with them being downloaded and passed around. If I discover that someone is passing it off as theirs and making a commercial success, then I will find a lawyer and negotiate (maybe), because I've got proof of date of composition.

 

[Xeries]

ALLWAYS police your copyright. That is to say, don't let someone use it without requesting that they mention that it is used by permission. I have over 120 songs copyrighted at the LOC. I am an advertising major, U of F class of 76'. I am not a lawyer, but I was taught by my professors that it is important for you to police your copyright or you could lose it. Orphaned works comes about by people publishing pictures or music and not policing their copyright as far as I understand it. Then it may become in the public domain. My brother-in law us a professional sports photographer and he is conderned about that proposed law. I hope it gets shot down. We need to protect the rights artists and their intellectual property whenever we can.