Members Mcfontio Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 We're going to release a four song demo here soon. We also don't want some shyster taking our stuff. So, what's the best way to go about getting music copyrighted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 The best way is to start here: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=1703192 And then here: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/ Is your google broken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny-Boy Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 Personally I wouldn't consider registering your work with the Library of Congress. It won't stop your music from being stolen. Anyone can use your title and concept (no copyright infringement there). Then all they have to do is change a chord or two, a melody note or two and BINGO - it's now their song. Save your money. Registering your work is a waste of time and money. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mcfontio Posted November 13, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 Well, straight up experience is usually better than stumbling around in a search engine. I am just being lazy really so, thank you. I could have used google. You really think it's a waste of time and money? To have the proof someone is a shyster sampler? Ok, get this: We're a live band hip-hop group, for whatever that means. And good music or not (it's good but not that good), our MC has some rhyme schemes that many rappers would drool over. Multi rhyme per line and complex rhyme resolution type {censored}. The kinda thing I could see someone wanting to take. (seeing how many losers in that genre couldn't write decent music, or rhymes for that matter, to save their life) Though, our content is not at all typical hip-hop so they might not want it but, I'd rather not risk it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dancebass Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 Fear of having your tunes ripped off is not a reason to copyright. That can be done left and right regardless of protection. I could put together a band today that completely apes someone else's sound and there's nothing that could be done about it. The legit reason for copyrighting your stuff is when you intend to submit the material to a label that does not accept unsolicited material. The reason they do so is because their attorneys have ordered that policy in order to protect themselves against future claims. A registered copyright can help get around that wall when the time comes. If that is not your intent with the demo I would let it slide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny-Boy Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 Bottom-line: you would have to prove the guilty party intentionally stole your ideas. It would be very costly legally for you to prove. Identical lines cross paths often in songs. Eventually they become cliques (like "a rock and a hard place"). Then serious songwriters stay away from them. Say you had a line “Humanity is a state of insanity”. Sounds maybe original on the surface. Probably could Google and find it used somewhere. Anyway, even if it was never, ever used and someone used it after you; it would still have to be proven that they intentionally stole your idea, rather than coincidentally coming up with it themselves. Again, very costly. Something else to think about is your reputation in the Industry. Whether you win a lawsuit or not, from what I’ve been told, the Industry keeps its distance from songwriters that were involved in copyright infringement cases. They’re gun-shy when it comes to signing these types. Get other opinions. IMO, it's a waste of time and money to register your songs. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slight-return Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 Well, straight up experience is usually better than stumbling around in a search engine. I am just being lazy really so, thank you. I could have used google. somewhat lazy - yeah I mean if you google - the #1 hit is...the US copyright office! (I think it's fair to say they've got a reasonable amt of that straightup experience in copyrights you are looking for) and the other link Bluestrat posted is...the copyright 101 sticky thread that's at the top of this forum it's the one that says "Before you ask, please take a look!" I mean consider the original question "So, what's the best way to go about getting music copyrighted?" and read the links Bluestrat posted -- you may find the answer to how and when copyright is created a little surprising Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Walmone-Jusee Posted November 14, 2009 Members Share Posted November 14, 2009 I have many friends who are songwriters, and "How to Copyright a Song" is a commonly asked question. Let's put this question to rest once and for all. The good news is copyright actually arises automatically upon an author's or creator's expression of an idea in an original, fixed form (for example, on paper, CD, floppy disk, etc.). In other words, if you write the lyrics to a song on a candy wrapper, it is a 'literary work' and you automatically own the copyright. Another example is if you write the lyrics and the musical notation to a song on a candy wrapper. This would then be a 'literary and musical work', and you would own the rights to both - assuming the work was original and not copied. According to these examples, we can see it is very simple to own the copyrights to your songs. You simply create an original work and put it in a fixed/tangible form (i.e. the candy wrapper example). The bad news, however, is unless you can prove you are the original creator of the song, you may run into expensive and time-consuming legal problems defending your work in the event someone copies your work. What this means is, just because you automatically own the copyrights to your song, you can't necessarily prove it. Fortunately, there are a number of steps one can take to prove you are the copyright owner of the songs. Firstly, and most importantly, you must put your song into a tangible form (for example, on paper, CD, flash drive, etc.). This is absolutely critical. If you do not have your song in a fixed form, you cannot prove that you own it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slight-return Posted November 14, 2009 Members Share Posted November 14, 2009 I have many friends who are songwriters, and "How to Copyright a Song" is a commonly asked question. Let's put this question to rest once and for all. good luck! I mean if you look up at the top of the forum, there's already a sticky on it a sticky that says 'Please take a look' a sticky that's over 2 years old guess what kind of question keeps getting asked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted November 14, 2009 Members Share Posted November 14, 2009 Let's put this question to rest once and for all.Yeah, good luck with that. There are people here who still think you can mail yourself a copy of the song and never open it and have it stand up in court. The bad news, however, is unless you can prove you are the original creator of the song, you may run into expensive and time-consuming legal problems defending your work in the event someone copies your work. What this means is, just because you automatically own the copyrights to your song, you can't necessarily prove it. And even if you are issues a copyright registration, it is no guarantee you can't be sued for infringement. George Harrison found this out with "My Sweet Lord" sounding quite a bit like "He's So Fine" by the Chiffons. MSL was a registered copyright but he got sued anyway. Fortunately, HSF was registered as well, and they won, I do believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slight-return Posted November 14, 2009 Members Share Posted November 14, 2009 yuppers, copyright registrations are not fully examined like a patent is (they are looked at for copyrightable subject matter) so you are basically registering a claim. Now, when we look at registration/fixation/publication in relation to protection through the Harrison case, we have to be careful b/c that took place before the '76 act went into effect (in 78) and that's when we got in line with Berne One really crazeee ass part of that case though was it ruled that the infringement didn't have to be intentional (I mean, it still had to be copying as opposed to independent authorship, but it could be unwittingly done...sort of internalizing the work and spitting it back out) -- which can make folks a little skittish about some stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RickGoetz Posted November 15, 2009 Members Share Posted November 15, 2009 I would register (that's just me) but I would worry more about making sure the trademark for the band name is clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Matximus Posted November 15, 2009 Members Share Posted November 15, 2009 We're going to release a four song demo here soon. We also don't want some shyster taking our stuff. So, what's the best way to go about getting music copyrighted? Yeah... No one is going to steal your songs. You'll never be famous. They're not worth anything, well, not monetarily. It's all just pissing in a well, dude. So don't worry about it. Seriously. Just rock out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobsax Posted November 19, 2009 Members Share Posted November 19, 2009 Yeah... No one is going to steal your songs. You'll never be famous. They're not worth anything, well, not monetarily. It's all just pissing in a well, dude. So don't worry about it. Seriously. Just rock out. Well said:thu: I've always wondered who these "song stealers" were ? The closest thing I could find was a few examples of ex partners releasing a song that sounded like something that had been collaborated on in the past. I just throw my original and Public Domain stuff up on iTunes to see if anybody buys it. --If I'm doing something wrong I'd appreciate it if somebody would point it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kevin_Rivers Posted November 24, 2009 Members Share Posted November 24, 2009 We're going to release a four song demo here soon. We also don't want some shyster taking our stuff. So, what's the best way to go about getting music copyrighted? Hi Mcfontio, There are many great sources you can check out to get your music copyrighted. I've found a site that many uprising artists (and majors) uses as well called: Worldwide OCR (Online Copyright Registration). They can help you create seals for your music (which can also be used for registration with a PRO affiliation like BMI or ASCAP). Click on the link below to learn more about them. www.worldwideocr.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted November 24, 2009 Members Share Posted November 24, 2009 Hi Mcfontio,There are many great sources you can check out to get your music copyrighted. I've found a site that many uprising artists (and majors) uses as well called: Worldwide OCR (Online Copyright Registration). They can help you create seals for your music (which can also be used for registration with a PRO affiliation like BMI or ASCAP). Click on the link below to learn more about them.www.worldwideocr.com STFU, spammer. You don't need a "Worldwide OCR", since there's this thing called the Berne convention (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention_for_the_Protection_of_Literary_and_Artistic_Works) Furthermore, copyright is automatic as soon as a piece of music or IP is put into a fixed format, i.e., paper, disc or tape, etc. You don't need to 'get your music copyrighted'. You may wish to register the existing copyright. And WTF is a 'seal' for your work? It looks suspiciously like a digital version of the 'poor man's copyright', which would be laughed out of any court. Has this 'seal' been tested in a court of law? And lastly, the problem with protecting intellectual property is not in the registration, it is in the enforcement. You can register a copyright 8 ways from Sunday, and it is neither a guarantee that you are not infringing on someone else's work, nor a preventative measure to keep someone else from infringing on yours. It merely proves ownership, but if you don't have the whip to take the offenders to court, usually for years, you're pretty much SOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mcfontio Posted November 25, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 I can see the argument that there's not point to doing it if we don't have serious green behind us. But that said, some friends of mine (currently "sons of the addicted") were running under a different name for years before they found out that their made up word was already copyrighted. That {censored}ing blows. All I want to do is play our music and not deal with the {censored}ing drudgery of the law. But it's been this cloud lurking over our heads for a little while now. If it's really necessary or not, we're going to register. Yeah... No one is going to steal your songs. You'll never be famous. They're not worth anything, well, not monetarily. It's all just pissing in a well, dude. So don't worry about it. Seriously. Just rock out. I'm not doing it cause we're expecting to be famous. My above example is really the drive, not necessarily people ripping us off. I want to do it so I don't have to deal with bull {censored}, you know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 their made up word was already copyrighted. I'm pretty sure you can't copyright a word. "How do I copyright a name, title, slogan or logo?Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases. In some cases, these things may be protected as trademarks. Contact the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, 800-786-9199, for further information. However, copyright protection may be available for logo artwork that contains sufficient authorship. In some circumstances, an artistic logo may also be protected as a trademark." http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mcfontio Posted November 25, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 It was a trademark then. They had to change for some reason. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't go around for years with a name they really liked, (Fractalia) and change on a whim, losing their local notoriety. Not to mention their whole frame of mind with their other name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny-Boy Posted November 26, 2009 Members Share Posted November 26, 2009 Funny about trademarks. "Friendly's" restaurant moved on our main run a couple years ago. A lot of the local businesses started advertising on their signs that "they were the friendliest restaurant" on our road. "Friendly's" threaten to take them to court if they didn't take the word friendly off their billboards. All the eateries buckled-under to Friendly's threat.. I guess Friendly's restaurant considers all forms of that name exclusive. Pick a word out of Webster’s dictionary and don’t allow anyone to use it. As if they created the word. Kind of like McDonald's trying to trademark the smiley face. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mcfontio Posted November 26, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 26, 2009 Yep, people will do that kind of bull shit. Mine, mine, mine. I don't want to get sued in the future, so I'll take it first (play their own damn game) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted December 3, 2009 Members Share Posted December 3, 2009 Under international law, copyright is the automatic right of the creator of the work, this means that copyright exist as soon as you have a tangible version of the music, such as sheet music and/or CDs. Registering the copyright of your work makes it easier to be compensated in court if your copyright is infringed. Isn't that what I just said 8 posts ago? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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