The music business may appear to be a tricky business, especially for a creative person not really concerned with the inner workings of the industry. One should be mindful that while there is much to learn what is simple to know and should be overstood is that copyrights and music publishing are the backbones of the music business. For this reason I responded to a forum on the Studio Exposed Site, which is partly or wholly owned by multi-platinum music producer and songwriter Byran M. Cox.In fairness to the discussion and the creator of the forum Kurt Kobane, I only took a part of what he wrote, but did so because the way the information reads one could interpret it one way when in fact it was intended as another.
"guess what registering your song doesn't protect you from getting it stole and it doesn't even prove that you created it..all its does IS PROVE YOU WAS FIRST TO REGISTER IT...! damn huh...THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO PROTECT YOUR SONG AND YOURSELF AND THATS TO MAKE YOUR SONG FAMOUS BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE DOES..." Kurt Kobane
Here's my response to the quote above:
According to Wikipedia "Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by governments, giving the creator of an original work of authorship exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time, after which the work enters the public domain. Generally, it is "the right to copy", but also gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from it, and other, related rights. It is an intellectual property form (like the patent, the trademark, and the trade secret) applicable to any expressible form of an idea or information that is substantive and discrete."
According to the U.S. Library of Congress Copyright Office under 501. Infringement of copyright2" (b) The legal or beneficial owner of an exclusive right under a copyright is entitled, subject to the requirements of section 411, to institute an action for any infringement of that particular right committed while he or she is the owner of it. The court may require such owner to serve written notice of the action with a copy of the complaint upon any person shown, by the records of the Copyright Office or otherwise, to have or claim an interest in the copyright, and shall require that such notice be served upon any person whose interest is likely to be affected by a decision in the case. The court may require the joinder, and shall permit the intervention, of any person having or claiming an interest in the copyright."
The U.S. Library of Congress Copyright Office also states the following under 411. Registration and infringement actions 10
(a) Except for an action brought for a violation of the rights of the author under section 106A(a), and subject to the provisions of subsection (b), no action for infringement of the copyright in any United States work shall be instituted until preregistration or registration of the copyright claim has been made in accordance with this title. In any case, however, where the deposit, application, and fee required for registration have been delivered to the Copyright Office in proper form and registration has been refused, the applicant is entitled to institute an action for infringement if notice thereof, with a copy of the complaint, is served on the Register of Copyrights. The Register may, at his or her option, become a party to the action with respect to the issue of registrability of the copyright claim by entering an appearance within sixty days after such service, but the Register's failure to become a party shall not deprive the court of jurisdiction to determine that issue."
There are more details on registering one's copyright in the U.S. through the U.S. Library of Congress.
The reason I bring attention to this is that by NOT registering one's intellectual property (songs & lyrics) with the U.S. Library of Congress (copyright office) you loose the ability to sue for certain damages under the letter of the law. The price per registration as of to day is something like $45 per title. You're going to spend $45 on something silly. Why not make the investment to get the optimum protection possible under the letter of the law?
In the digital age you can't necessarily prevent others from stealing it, but by registering your work with the copyright office you give yourself additional protection.
Copyright Office Click Here. Wikipedia Click Here. Now that's Industry Pimping
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