Copyrights, obtainment thereof

[Idylle Moon Dancer]

OK, I'm not totally lazy; I have looked into it on my own a bit, but I was wondering what experience anyone here might have. From what I've found it looks pretty straightforward, but there are a couple things I'm wondering about. Apparently you can get a whole big pile of stuff covered for one fee if all of it falls under one title, but what disadvantages might lie down the road with that approach? Are there any dangers lurking about for which I might want to consult a lawyer before copyrighting my stuff by myself?

[Pepperbelly]

1. If you wrote it ...

it's already copyrighted. Unless you seriously have a reason to think someone is after your shit, I wouldn't worry about it. But that's just me.

[leftofthedial]

2. technically, it is copyrighted immediately when . . .

you put it into a mechanical (reproducible) form such as an audio recording or written sheet music. Then that specific tangible work (the tape, the CD, the computer file or what ever) is technically copyrighted. A song is not copyrighted in the abstract when you make it up.

If a lawsuit or other legal copyright dispute were ever to happen down the road, issues like the specific date of first creation and the specific version of the work when created (with bona fide documentation) are key issues and the technical fact above does you relatively little good.

Copyright your work.

You can copyright multiple songs as one titled work, or compilation, and save some money. For example, "Crab Nebula's Songs for 2005" might contain all the songs you wrote in 2005. When you do so, you are copyrighting the entire chunk as though it was one big work. The difficulty arises if later you want to amend the copyright on only one of the songs, for example, if you rewrite it--add a verse, change the lyric, etc. and want to copyright the new version. You can still do it, it's just more complicated. You can always just copyright the new version of the single song on its own.

More to the point for professional songwriters, if you were to sign a publishing deal or other agreement that would require assigning the copyright of one of the songs in a copyrighted compilation to a different legal entity, things would also be more complicated.

Still, I'd recommend doing the official copyright process. Use compilations if you want, but limit compilations to no more than 5 songs or so. This is a typical approach used by many songwriters.

FWIW, I'm a professional songwriter and publisher. I'm also extremely tired and not feeling well, so I apologize if my post is a bit "loopy."

[greyl]

5. Would you agree that

your suggestions(and others) are only "worth it" if you make significant money from your work and are prepared to spend significant amounts protecting your rights?

[leftofthedial]

8. no. it is cheap and easy to protect your work

it remains a latent revenue stream for 70 years after your death.

you never know what might become "worth it."

the odds of spending significant amounts to protect it are extremely minimal, if you do the basics of protecting your work.

[BlueEyedSon]

3. http://www.copyright.gov/ register/

http://www.copyright.gov/register/

[ktowntennesseedem]

4. If you're worried about security, here's a simple fix.

Put a copy of your work in a sealed envelope, and mail it to yourself via certified mail. The post office gives you a receipt of when you mailed it, and time-stamps the envelope. Then if you ever had to prove when you created it, you would have something legal to back you up.

But as others have pointed out, it is copyrighted the moment you create it; just add "©Copyright 2005 by _______" and that should cover you.

[Jamastiene]

10. That won't stand up in a court of law.

For true protection, copyrighting is the way to go. Years ago, the trick you described worked, but the laws have changed since then. Sorry to disagree, but I would hate to see someone get screwed.

[Angry Girl]

6. You can copyright a collection of songs, say.

And it'll cost you just $30. You can sell your album of songs without worries. If someone rips off one of the songs in the collection, you're still protected

However, If you want to, say, sell one of those songs on its own, you'll need a specific copyright for just that song.

But you don't have to copyright ALL your songs for $30 a pop. Here's what you can do to save some money. OK, you've already registered the collection. When you receive your LOC copyright for the collection, you can submit another application form (I forget the number) that will allow you to individually register each of the songs in the collection for only $100 (I think that was the price) total. Then you'll get your LOC thingy for each song such that you can sell each one individually.

I have even heard that many artists don't even bother with the individual copyrighting so much.

I think that's how it works. But am not positive..... Verify this info with someone else to be sure.

[Angry Girl]

7. Here's the reference for some of my mutterings

3. Can I register more than one work at one time for one fee?

Yes. The Copyright Office will accept registration of an unpublished collection of works for a single $30 fee if all of the following requirements are met:

a) You put all the works together in an orderly manner with a single title. (Any title describing the collection is acceptable, even one as general as "The Works of .") If you send lead sheets, you should fasten them together or put them in a folder. However, you can send a record or tape containing all of the songs instead.

b) The copyright claimant for every selection and the collection is the same.

c) All of the selections in the collection are by the same author or, if they are by different authors, at least one of the authors has contributed copyrighted material to each selection.

Only the title of the collection, not the titles of the individual works, will appear in Copyright Office records. However, once you receive the copyright registration certificate for the collection, you can then file Form CA, listing the individual titles in the collection, and for another $100, your works will be identified individually in the Copyright Office records. Form CA is also used to correct mistakes on an earlier registration.

A published collection may be registered under its title for a single fee if all of the works are owned by the same copyright claimant.

http://www.bmi.com/songwriter/resources/pubs/copyright.asp

[Jamastiene]

9. Yes, you can copyright a whole bunch of songs with an collection title.

I did that. It's pretty easy. Just send the Library of Congress' Copyright office two copies of the music and your name and other info plus a check or money order. I remember it was $20 when I did mine, but it's $30 now. You'll need form PA for music you have written that you may have sheetmusic or tab or a demo to copyright. This proves you wrote it.

At one time, I could find my copyright listing online. Since Bush and his bunch of junk have taken over, I can't find anything and the prices have gone up. Go figure.

As far as better protection. If you record the music, copyright or recopyright the recording (however it ends up as a single or an album) using form SR for sound recording. If you can afford to copyright each song individually, and you think you may use an idividual song on another collection (compilations, as a single, etc.) it would be best to copyright the songs individually. If I could afford it, I would recopyright each of my songs individually. In the meantime, I'm glad some of my earlier songs are copywritten if for nothing else my sense of security.

[Idylle Moon Dancer]

11. So are you saying that using form SR offers better protection?

I got a few of them in the mail some time ago, and I'm almost ready to use one. What are any differences in protection between copyrighting a recording vs. the written music? I'm not very good at transcription. I'm better at it then I was a few years ago, but I still don't trust myself to get all the rhythm written down accurately.

[Jamastiene]

12. No, they are different but equal.

Form PA protects the song as it is written (songwriters can use this before they record a final version.) Form SR protects the recorded version of it. Both forms offer equal but different forms of protection.

In other words it you just have a version of a song recorded, not the final version in other words, you will want to copyright that using form PA. If you have recorded it at a studio and plan on releasing it as a cd/dvd, then you copyright the cd/dvd separately to protect that too. Most likely you will want to use form PA in the beginning. I recorded the music I copywrote years ago, but went with form PA, because I knew I would want to record it in better quality and copyright the SR version (final recorded version) later. I'm glad I did too.

[Idylle Moon Dancer]

13. Ah, thanks

I was all set to register stuff that's by no means polished and professional quality recordings using SR. I'm still kinda fuzzy on all this, but it looks like it would have been a bad move. Got me some forms PA now. Thanks.