Topic: Copyrite.

What's the simplest way to insure your rites.......I'm a muso & can't cope with admin & paperwork....

You can't take more out of life, than you are prepared to put in.

Re: Copyrite.

Per music copyright laws, the moment you put your song in a "fixed" form like on paper or a recording, you have a copyright of your song.  To protect your rights you can register your song with the Library of Congress. I know several amateur songwriters that sign and date their lyrics & chords then seal them in an envelope and mail them to themselves, keeping the unopened letter as "proof" of when the song was written. When I belonged to an NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International)group  in Cincinnati, the group did  "critiques" of each other's songs. Keeping a copy of dated attendance sheets with the song names/writers would also provide proof of when your song was written. Not sure how these methods would stand up in court though.  I figure there's not much chance of anyone thinking my songs are good enough to steal, so I don't consider the copyright issue to be a problem.

DE

I want to read my own water, choose my own path, write my own songs

Re: Copyrite.

the fact is anyone can steal or record your songs a copyright is only good if you take them to court and sue,most of the time its setteled out of court and the composer only gets a fraction of what the song generated in sales case in point the song by Huey Lewis "I want a new drug" was taken for the theme "Ghost busters" Huey sued and got about 1/10 of what the song earned

"Growing old is not for sissies"

Re: Copyrite.

Cheers, for input, I have recorded with producer in studio, I reckon that is proof enough. Everyone in the legal world wants to shake the tree too. Watch this space, I can taste success.!

You can't take more out of life, than you are prepared to put in.

Re: Copyrite.

Ed is correct.  Copyright is implicit upon authorship.  You need do nothing other than write it down.  To that end, I simply publish my songs on Chordie, and print them out with a date.

Registration with a copyright office affords you additional protections in court, should you need to sue someone.    As Russell notes, copyright is a civil cause, so its up to you to defend your rights.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

Re: Copyrite.

hi christian welcome to chordie,i found a copywrite website,registered and it was supposed to put protection on my songs but did'nt so i gave it up,i just keep all my songs in a folder and on here with my name and date i posted and i know they will be safe on here,also i don't mind any member using my work as long as its not for profit,this is like a big family on chordie i can put my trust in them as they would for me,its respect you aquire from the way you treat each other,so just enjoy the experience.....stay cool

love is life ,life is for love,keep a true heart and live life to the full....stay cool