Copyright laws
If you were to come up with something original and hopefully successful, would you want it to be used for profit by others, with you receiving no benefit at all? The United States copyright law protects original work of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical works, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright law does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed.
What is copyright in music?
The United States copyright protection gives the owner of copyright in a musical work the exclusive right to make copies, prepare derivative works, sell or distribute copies, and perform or display the work publicly. The owner of copyright may also authorize others to exercise the exclusive rights. Note, that a musical composition and a sound recording are two separate works, which in many cases copyright office requires to be registered separately. A registration for a musical composition covers the music and lyrics, if any, embodied in that composition, but it does not cover a recorded performance of that composition.
The United States Congress and U.S. Copyright Office also tell us that musical works include original compositions and original arrangements or other new versions of earlier compositions to which new copyrightable authorship has been added. Once a musical composition is published in the United States on a phonorecord, others are permitted to make subsequent sound recordings of the musical composition subject to a compulsory licensing provision in the copyright law.
Copyright in studio recording
When one thinks how to copyright a song, the process generally begins in a studio. Thus, when all sessions are done, there will, hopefully, be an "original work of authorship" which then will be "fixed" in a tangible medium – the master.
Do I need to copyright my music?
Depends on whether you want to risk having your music used for free by others and potentially derive financial benefits with you having none. As the copyright owner in a song, copyright registration gives you the exclusive right to make copies, prepare derivative works, sell or distribute copies, and perform or display the work publicly. You may also authorize others to exercise the exclusive rights. If you want to enforce your copyright protection in court, many circuits require copyright registration with the copyright office as a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit in a United States District Court to enforce your rights against someone who you accuse of copyright infringement.
Types of music that can be copyrighted
Any type of musical work can be copyrighted, even 4'33" by John Cage.
Registering music copyright with US Copyright office
The U.S. Government made registration of a musical composition fairly straightforward. Potentially, one could even copyright music for free, using own skill. However, the copyright office will require a registration fee, even if you create an application online, rather than send a copy by mail.
What are my rights?
As the owner, or as the assignee of a copyright in a musical composition, copyright registration gives you the exclusive right to make copies, prepare derivative works, sell or distribute copies, and perform or display the work publicly. You may also authorize others to exercise the exclusive rights. Importantly, many circuits hold that copyright registration with the copyright office is a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit in a United States District Court to enforce your rights against someone who you accuse of copyright infringement.
Should I copyright my music before putting it on YouTube?
Yes, and at the latest within 3 months after putting it on a publishing platform. Registration prior to infringement or, if the work is published, within three months of publication, is necessary for an owner to obtain statutory damages and attorneys’ fees. Copyrighting music within 3 months of publication is worth it: the basic level of damages is between $750 and $30,000 per work, at the discretion of the court. Those who can show willful infringement may be entitled to damages up to $150,000 per work. You can register multiple songs at a time. How to copyright songs is not a hard topic for an artist; however, the registration process on the copyright office side may last a few months depending on their workload.
Hiring Gherman Legal Pllc for helping register music copyright
We prosecute and defend cases that involve theft of your sound recording, song, work of authorship. Ordinarily our attorney advice and legal services do not involve registration unless you are ready to go to court.
FAQ:
How can I copyright my music for free?
Yes, but you'd still need to pay a small fee to the U.S. Copyright Office for copyright registration. Nowadays, artists can copyright a song by filing an online application. How to copyright song is no longer a mystery; eCO Online System makes it easy and lowers copyright fee music to $35 for a basic claim.
Use Form SR for registration of published or unpublished sound recordings. Form SR should be used when the copyright claim is limited to the sound recording itself, and it may also be used where the same copyright claimant is seeking simultaneous registration of the underlying musical, dramatic, or literary work embodied in the phonorecord. With one exception, “sound recordings” are works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds. The exception is for the audio portions of audiovisual works, such as a motion picture soundtrack or an audio cassette accompanying a filmstrip. These are considered a part of the audiovisual work as a whole. Form SR may be used to register one unpublished work, and cannot be used to register a “collection” of two or more unpublished works.
Use Form PA for registration of published or unpublished works of the performing arts. This class includes works prepared for the purpose of being “performed” directly before an audience or indirectly “by means of any device or process.” Works of the performing arts include: (1) musical works, including any accompanying words; (2) dramatic works, including any accompanying music; (3) pantomimes and choreographic works; and (4) motion pictures and other audiovisual works.
How many songs can I copyright at once?
The U.S. Copyright Office proposed a new group registration option for musical works, sound recordings, and associated literary, pictorial, and graphic works contained on an album. Under the proposed the applicant could register up to twenty works / song(s) or twenty sound recordings contained in an album, if the works are created by the same author or have at least one common author and if the claimant for each work in the group is the same.
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