question about copyrights

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kidcrappyhead

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how do you go about copyrighting your material...i've heard about the method where you can mail your music to yourself....if i post mp3s of my music on my website is it considered copyright?....has anyone had experiences where you placed your music on your websites and later had problems with music rights?
 
A work is copyrighted when it is in a fixed, tangible form(IE a recording of the song). Register the copyright with the US gov't to show ownership and date of copyright.
 
Go here and read.

"Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.

Why should I register my work if copyright protection is automatic?
Registration is recommended for a number of reasons. Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation. Finally, if registration occurs within 5 years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law."

So basically, the copyright exists (for a song) when it is first written on paper or recorded onto any medium. If you want to have the best evidence in a court of law that you own the copyright, it should be registered.

It currently costs $30 to copyright a song, but you can copyright a whole group of songs for the same $30 if they are submitted together on one form. Use form SR. That will not only copyright the song, but your recording of it also.
 
Don't do the "mail yourself an envelope" poor man's copyright, waste of postage. File the appropriate forms with the Library of Congress. And by all means, DO copyright your music if you are releasing it to the public, shopping it around, licensing it for others to use, etc.

If you ever get into a dispute with anyone about the use of your music, the first question you will be asked by an attorney is "Do you have the copyright registered?" You want to be able to answer "yes" to that.

Go to the Library of Congress web site on copyrights and read all their information there, it will be well worth the time you spend. You can start here:

http://www.copyright.gov/

I file a form PA for the music itself, as sheet music, and form SR for recordings. Be sure to read the materials carefully so that you file the proper form.
 
SonicAlbert said:
I file a form PA for the music itself, as sheet music, and form SR for recordings. Be sure to read the materials carefully so that you file the proper form.
Click to expand...

You can save $ by using Form SR as I noted above for a single or group of recordings. This registers song itself also. The only reason to use Form PA is if you only have the music in sheet music form, with no recording of it.


"When to Use This Form: Use Form SR for registration of published
or unpublished sound recordings. It should be used when the copyright
claim is limited to the sound recording itself, and it may also be used where
the same copyright claimant is seeking simultaneous registration of the underlying musical, dramatic, or literary work embodied in the phonorecord."
 
I'm wondering if filing an SR form for the underlying copyright is their preferred way of doing it, or a backup kind of way. I'll have to do some reading, curious about it.

It probably came about because in recent years so many people recording music are not trained musicians and can't notate sheet music. In earlier years, untrained songwriters still had people notating their works for submission, since sheet music was still the standard for communicating music. Now, with home studios, recording so accessible to all, recorded sound is the standard for fixing an original musical idea for many people.

I still use PA for the underlying composition and SR for the recording, but I can see how it has evolved by necessity.
 
Hello everyone, thankyou thankyou for having me.
Anyway my question here is Can I send a data cd with,
let's say, 50 mp3's to the Library of Congress for copyrighting, with
one payment of $30?
Considering that yes the mp3's are my original music.
 
I'm pretty shure they don't except MP3's, but you can however send them a stack of audio CD's and call the group and single "work."
A buddy of mine does this every couple of years to cover all his written stuff.
-k
 
If you copyright multiple works at a time, be *sure* to make an extra copy of all the music for yourself as well. Keep that in a safe place like a safe deposit box or something. You'll also need to keep excellent written records of what tunes are on those CD's. Number them, name them, and then keep a record of that. Otherwise, if you go back years later, you will have a hell of a time trying to figure out what's what.
 
Copyright

Sending a copy of a song or poetry to oneself is not a legally recognized form of copyright. It's up to the judge in a case like this, and if he decides to side with the man who stole your tune (who may have registered it with the Library Of Congress) then you've lost your song. Put yourself in the judges position, all he sees is two people who are both claiming ownership, one has spent $3.00 to register the song, the other did not. If he's a stickler for details, (and the letter of the law) he doesn't have to acknowledge the fact that your self-addressed-letter predates your opponents copyright date. It may not be fair, but honestly, that IS the way it is.
ALSO, I wouldn't trust my HIT song to a lawyer NOT versed in MUSIC LAW,(One familliar with "Intellectual Property").

It has already been mentioned, but the most efficient and affordable method is to wait until you have 8 or 10 songs finished, then register them as a 'collection'. Use form 'PA' and it's only $30.. for the whole bunch. Later, if a publisher is interested in one (or more) of those tunes, you can re-register that song by itself just to be sure that everyone sees it on the L.O.C's web site as your song.
 
I believe 10 songs at a time is the maximum for the PA form. How about SR? Can you register an entire 10 song CD? I assume so, but I thought I'd ask.
 
radzikk said:
I'm pretty shure they don't except MP3's, but you can however send them a stack of audio CD's and call the group and single "work."
A buddy of mine does this every couple of years to cover all his written stuff.
-k
Click to expand...
I just got word from another forum that I could send mp3's.
keep excellent written records
Click to expand...
Yes, that's what was on my mind too.
 
Qnerve said:
I just got word from another forum that I could send mp3's.
Click to expand...

Please, please, please don't take anybody's word for it. Do your research and get the facts straight from the Library of Congress. The web site is right here: http://www.copyright.gov/

If you can't find it on their site, then email them or find someone who is an authority on the subject.

I don't see why they wouldn't take an MP3. but really, it's pretty easy to convert MP3's to WAV or AIFF format and burn to audio CD's, so why don't you do that if it's a concern?
 
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