daddymack

Your local constabulary sounds like they are out of step with the state laws...

if you reported it stolen to the police, all you should have had to do was notify the police. The pawn shop is liable for purchasing stolen property...under California law, they have a legal obligation to make sure they are not abetting the thief by receiving stolen property.

Originally Posted by Deadbeat Son What if the final track list isn't defined yet prior to mastering? (aka the song order isn't 100% decided yet) Can I still register my copyright, or do I need to wait until there's a definitive sequence? You are not registering the album, you are registering the songs. The order, arrangements, etc. mean nothing.

pay a SEO operation to put you up on top of searches.... but really, this is why the internet is NOT the promotional tool people mistake it for. It is a search oriented medium, people find things by looking, and if they aren't looking for your product, guess what?

Just a properly labeled CD. Remember you are dealing with the Federal Government Bureaucracy here, so don't confuse them by sending more than one item

Originally Posted by TIMP3 I have the lyics to 12 songs that I would like to eventually record. I am not a good enough player now to make the songs the way i hear them in my head. All I have is simple "cowboy" chords worked out to the lyics. Should and can I copyright just the lyrics now and then the music later? I also have the name of the album and would like to copyright that as well. Does that have to be done seperately or can I do the album name and the lyrics contained within? thanks Just submit the barebones of the songs with a simple accompaniment, there is no 'arrangement' requirement for a copyright...you are protecting the song, not the version you hear in your head. The final recorded version, if you really feel the need to spend money, can be filed under form SR (Sound Recording); this to my way of thinking is a total waste of time and money, but some people do it... You can't copyright the album titile nor the song titles. You can also copyright the entire 'album' as a single 'collection', and save yourself a lot of filing fees.

Thank you, Peter!

Well, I suppose you could register a copyright for them as poetry...but to actually be a 'song' typically requires that there would be some music involved...

Intersting question. I would think you would need to work that out with the publisher and author, and typically you will need to state an attribution ('based on the novel by...'), but I don't know.

It is still run by the least efficient operation ever known to mankind....the U.S. Government...they will eventually figure out how to screw up the online process as well

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/...2#post40442242 heres a recent one from one of the other forums...

technically, the moment you set them in any 'tangible' form (written down, recorded), the copyright is in effect. So if you recorded them in 1999, that is your copyright date. The registration date will is the date you actually registered them.

No. Each country pretty much does their own thing with copyright.

Register them as a collection on one disc, under a master title with the individual titles inclusive.

I am told people are holding for 2 hours minimum when calling into customer service. Apparently they cut tons of customer service jobs there after it was sold. well, at least they didn't outsource it to India, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Belize...

Originally Posted by mgv1 I just wanted to ask anyone familiar with copyright law if a copyright needs to be completely processed and issues by the Copyright Office before the artist outplaces music to music publishers, online libraries, or distribution services to be protected. In my understanding, the copyright is in effect upon date of receipt of the application and recorded material by the Copyright Office. I'm asking because I have waited almost a year for a non-online copyright application and about 6 months for an Eco filed copyright. Neither are processed yet and I'm wanting to get the music out there. Well, the copyright exists as soon as the work is in tangible form (written or recorded). Publishers want to ensure there are no issues, and want to see that a copyright has been properly registered. The only way to satisfy them is with the registration.

separate filing

please define what you mean by 'published'. If you had a publishing agreement for a song in 2006, then you must have had a copyright filed. If you mean you released the song on a CD or your website, but you had not filed for a copyright, that is different. In this particular case, I would apply the 2009 date to all if you didn't have a copyright, as the odds are no one has tried to steal the song you put out in 2006.

Originally Posted by thefyn How do I copyright a compilation CD with 14 different artists on it? HCAF is putting out a metal CD recorded by forumites to send to A&R, radio, magazines etc etc. I would suggest that each artist secure their own Copyright for their materials.

The point isn't how many times it has been covered. The question is whether it is in the public domain, where you can freely cover it, or it is still 'protected' under copyright. Any 'covers' you want to do should be licensed or verified that they are public domain. The Harry Fox Agency (HFA) is your best bet for the licensing.

Originally Posted by slight-return Quick distinction here - copyright exists (automatically) at the time of fixation. What we are talking about here is REGISTRATION of a copyright claim. It's not so much "get the copyright" as it is "register the copyright claim" correct, the intent was to register ...

Originally Posted by the_offspring Heres my question. I have finished writing the lyrics and guitar riffs for my album. Should i copyright it before i start sending out demos to record companies? And if do have to copyright it, is it okay if i send in a cd with me singing on my acoustic guitar. I just dont want to record them using my eletric right now, it will take to long Any tangible version is copyright-able, and yes, before you try to shop it, get the copyright.

Originally Posted by Crazy88Fingers Okay, I've got a good one for you guys. My band recorded a demo song last year. I just got the copyright certificate in the mail today. Here's the problem. The copyright has two of the old band members' names on it. Now we're about to record a new EP that includes the old demo song, and want them off the copyright. We have new members and all the old members' work is no longer being used (they only contributed their individual tracks). So how do we go about doing that? Can we just re-copyright the new recordings? What's the easiest way to go about this? Also, can I copyright individual parts of the songs? Like my keyboard tracks? I'm not sure if I explained it well enough. But thanks in advance. Did yo ufile SR or PA? If it is SR, then no problem, but if it is PA, you screwed yourself. Ahh, yes, this is the error too commonly made. When you file the copyright (PA), the authors (who wrote the music/melody/changes and the lyrics) of the work should be the only ones named on the filing. Because they created it. Whatever contributions were made by the band fleshing out the recorded version are moot in that respect. Too often bandmates insist on being credited as co-writers when they really contributed just their tracks, and did not 'create' anything. In this particular case, go ahead and re-record the song...but make sure you have/get a authorship copyright on the actual song, not the version.

Originally Posted by No Arrow_Dann here is what im trying/would like to get done: -copyright the bandname -copyright the song titles -copyright the album can i get this done with one form? and one payment? thanks... band name? Nope, but you may be able to get a trademark on it... song titles? Nope, you cannot copyright the title, since titles can be applied to a myraid of lyrics. the album? yes, you can as a single work, but then you have issues licensing individual songs if you wanted to have them shopped around and covered.

Originally Posted by Wheeler004 If someone were to lift your music after it had been sent to the copyright office but before it had been approved, would you have any legal leverage? yes. You are the owner of the copyright the moment the material is in 'tangible' form. Your submission to the Copyright Office is dated upon receipt as well.