Copyright Question

[And Shepherds We Shall Be]

Hey everyone, I'm new to recording music and have a few songs that I want to share but I want to make sure that my songs are protected. How does one go about copyrighting music/lyrics and how much is it going to cost me? Any reputable sites or instructions would be truly appreciated. Thank you.

[antaine]

Copyright is automatic. If you create an original piece of art and have a tangible copy of it, be it a CD or sheet music or what not, then it is copyrighted.

Some countries have a facility where, for a fee, you can register it with a copyright office, but this is by no means a pre-requisite and some countries (like Australia) do not have such centralised bodies for it.

It would appear in the states you can now register your material online at this website: http://www.copyright.gov/

It costs 35 dollars or something online (65 by post). Agan though, this does not actually give you the copyright. The copyright exists automatically as soon as you create a tangible copy of your work.

[Offizier Wolfgang]

I keep a record of when I made my stuff, that way if someone tries to claim it, I have proof that I made it and owned it first.

[...Aurora Dream...]

antaine

Copyright is automatic. The copyright exists automatically as soon as you create a tangible copy of your work.

There is only an issue if someone claims copyright infringement on their work and brings you to court, in which case, proof that you created your work first is needed.

[skumskull]

antaine

Copyright is automatic. If you create an original piece of art and have a tangible copy of it, be it a CD or sheet music or what not, then it is copyrighted.

WRONG.

You HAVE to actually pay for the copyright to your music, and the copyright ONLY applies to the final mix of the recording.

There is a theory that if you mail yourself the final mix and do not open the envelope, that you could use that (as the post office is a federal institution and it will time-stamp your package) as proof. But it has never actually been used in court, and most legal annalists predict that it would not be admissible in court.

Take a music business class, bro.

[antaine]

skumskull

antaine

Copyright is automatic. If you create an original piece of art and have a tangible copy of it, be it a CD or sheet music or what not, then it is copyrighted.

WRONG.

You HAVE to actually pay for the copyright to your music, and the copyright ONLY applies to the final mix of the recording.

There is a theory that if you mail yourself the final mix and do not open the envelope, that you could use that (as the post office is a federal institution and it will time-stamp your package) as proof. But it has never actually been used in court, and most legal annalists predict that it would not be admissible in court.

Take a music business class, bro.

Quote:

Protection is automatic

There is no system of registration for copyright protection in Ireland as copyright arises automatically on the creation of an original work. You do not need to publish your work, to put a copyright notice on it or do anything else to be covered by copyright – protection is free and automatic.

A work is protected automatically from the time it is first written down or recorded in some way, provided that it has resulted from the creator’s skill and effort and is not simply copied from another work.

Depending on the circumstances, it may be difficult for an author to prove that he or she had created a work at a specific point in time. Proof of this fact might be needed in an action for infringement. An author can create such proof by sending a copy of the work to himself or herself by registered post, keeping the post office receipt and leaving the envelope unopened. Another way of creating this type of proof is to deposit the work with an organisation such as the Copyright Protection Agency, which, for a fee, will provide the necessary proof should the need arise.

source

So in otherwords, no you don't have to pay and register it, but it is helpful as proof if you are going to sue for infingement.

Also you say:

skumskull

the copyright ONLY applies to the final mix of the recording.

I'm curious as to how this isn't the same as what I refer to as a tangible copy of the recording? i.e. Sheet music or a CD. If you mix something down and burn it to a CD that -is- a final mix, no? If you write up something in score that in a finalisation of its musical form in a visual medium and again you would own the copyright on that.

[zippythecellist]

antaine

source

So in otherwords, no you don't have to pay and register it, but it is helpful as proof if you are going to sue for infringement.

No. You DO have to pay and register it...because that IS your only court-admissable proof that you created something. The "poor man's copyright" you described in an earlier post would not hold in court...so PLEASE don't risk it! You are opening the door for someone to screw you over. If you live in the USA, it's $35 to register something online. I think the site is copyright.gov.

Quote:

Also you say:

skumskull

the copyright ONLY applies to the final mix of the recording.

I'm curious as to how this isn't the same as what I refer to as a tangible copy of the recording? i.e. Sheet music or a CD. If you mix something down and burn it to a CD that -is- a final mix, no? If you write up something in score that in a finalization of its musical form in a visual medium and again you would own the copyright on that.

I'm pretty sure the final version of the sheet music or a CD recording would be able to be copyrighted. But double check with your country's laws first.

[tiny broken fingers]

antaine

There is no system of registration for copyright protection in Ireland

found the problem

[skumskull]

antaine

So in otherwords, no you don't have to pay and register it, but it is helpful as proof if you are going to sue for infingement.

What the ******** is a copyright for if not for court?
Sure, you can poor-mans copyright the s**t out of a major label, but without court-admissible evidence, that'll just land you a large wad of ********.

antaine

Also you say:

skumskull

the copyright ONLY applies to the final mix of the recording.

I'm curious as to how this isn't the same as what I refer to as a tangible copy of the recording? i.e. Sheet music or a CD. If you mix something down and burn it to a CD that -is- a final mix, no? If you write up something in score that in a finalisation of its musical form in a visual medium and again you would own the copyright on that.

What I'm saying is: lets say you make a song and someone gets ahold of the master tracks, mixes it differently than you did, and then publishes it. You are ********.

[zippythecellist]

skumskull

What I'm saying is: lets say you make a song and someone gets ahold of the master tracks, mixes it differently than you did, and then publishes it. You are ********]

This. If you need any other convincing to be done, here it is. Stealing someone else's ideas happens ALL the time in the industry. Hell, it even happens at schools like full sail when industry executives "grade" students ideas...remember reading a story that the idea for the movie bolt was taken from a full sail student. Pretty scary s**t, huh? Good reason to spend the money copyrighting your things if you ask me. Unless you WANT to play russian roulette with your ideas. eek

[antaine]

zippythecellist

skumskull

What I'm saying is: lets say you make a song and someone gets ahold of the master tracks, mixes it differently than you did, and then publishes it. You are ********]

This. If you need any other convincing to be done, here it is. Stealing someone else's ideas happens ALL the time in the industry. Hell, it even happens at schools like full sail when industry executives "grade" students ideas...remember reading a story that the idea for the movie bolt was taken from a full sail student. Pretty scary s**t, huh? Good reason to spend the money copyrighting your things if you ask me. Unless you WANT to play russian roulette with your ideas. eek

People steal ideas all the time because you can't copyright an idea, only the expression of an idea.

So for example: "guy goes back in time to save a baby before its born" <--- this is not copyrightable.

The script to Terminator? Copyrightable, because is a specific expression of this concept.

[skumskull]

antaine

zippythecellist

skumskull

What I'm saying is: lets say you make a song and someone gets ahold of the master tracks, mixes it differently than you did, and then publishes it. You are ********]

This. If you need any other convincing to be done, here it is. Stealing someone else's ideas happens ALL the time in the industry. Hell, it even happens at schools like full sail when industry executives "grade" students ideas...remember reading a story that the idea for the movie bolt was taken from a full sail student. Pretty scary s**t, huh? Good reason to spend the money copyrighting your things if you ask me. Unless you WANT to play russian roulette with your ideas. eek

People steal ideas all the time because you can't copyright an idea, only the expression of an idea.

So for example: "guy goes back in time to save a baby before its born" <--- this is not copyrightable.

The script to Terminator? Copyrightable, because is a specific expression of this concept.

But lets say you make a full song, and you don't register the copyright.
Someone takes the vocal track and puts new music behind it. It goes platinum. YOU ARE ********.

Again, but this time you DID register the copyright:
Someone takes the vocal track and puts new music behind it. It goes platinum. YOU ARE RICK JAMES.

See the difference?