Copyright Registration for Music

1. Music Business Essentials
REGISTERING A COPYRIGHT
© 2006 musicbizclasses.com

2. Benefits of Registration
Copyright registration establishes a public
record of the copyright claim.
Copyright registration is a prerequisite to
filing an infringement suit in the U.S.—
No award for statutory damages will be
granted for infringement without copyright
registration.
© 2006 musicbizclasses.com

3. Registering a Copyright…
Registration is NOT required to enjoy
copyright protection. Copyright protection
is
i AUTOMATIC
Registration is
R i t ti i available f BOTH published
il bl for bli h d
and unpublished works
Registration may be made at any time within
the life of the copyright BUT best to do it
copyright, BUT,
within three months of publication, for
optimal legal benefits in a court case
© 2006 musicbizclasses.com

4. Registering a Copyright…
Registration becomes effective on the day
that the Copyright Office receives your
complete application payment and deposits
application, payment,
in acceptable form.
If your submission is in order, a certificate of
registration will be mailed in approximately
68
6-8 months.
Two or more songs, sets of lyrics, or other
musical works may b registered with one
i l k be i t d ith
application to save money. See “Fact Sheets”
and “Circulars” on www.copyright.gov
py g g
for rules
© 2006 musicbizclasses.com

5. Copyright Registration
Process
Register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office
– www.copyright.gov
Fill out correct application form
Pay a fee per registration application
Include “deposit” of original material
I l d “d i” f i i l i l
send the above three elements
in the same envelope /package
Correct f
C t format: © 2008 J
t Jane D
Doe
© 2006 musicbizclasses.com

6. Which Forms?
Copyright Forms for Sound
Recordings
Form SR= for sound recordings. Sound
recordings are "
di "works th t result f
k that lt from
the fixation of a series of musical,
spoken, or other sounds
Copyright Forms for Performing Arts
Form PA= performing arts works.
F PA f i t k
Performing arts works are intended
to be "performed" directly before an
audience or i di tl "b means of any
di indirectly "by f
device or process." Includes: musical
works (songs) and lyrics
( g ) y
© 2006 musicbizclasses.com

7. Deposits Requirements
All Copyright Registration applications
must include a “deposit” or copy of the
deposit
original work to be registered
Deposit requirements= th b t edition
D it i t the best diti
– one complete copy for unpublished
works
– two complete copies of for published
works.
© 2006 musicbizclasses.com

8. Pre-registration
Pre-Registration protects unfinished works
Good for artists collaborating with large
g g
groups
Three requirements for pre-registration
– the work must be currently unpublished
– the work will be commercially distributed
– the work must be a motion picture, sound
recording, musical composition, literary work
You must file a form to switch from pre-
registered to registered works once work
is completed (and pay required fees)
© 2006 musicbizclasses.com

9. Myth: “The Poor Man’s Copyright”
The “Poor Man’s Copyright”= mailing
yourself a copy of your work of creative
authorship to establish date/ownership
The “Poor Man’s Copyright” is essentially
a myth
It does not offer any guarantee of legal
protection- it may provide very
t ti id
limited/weak proof of your ownership, but
is not, usually, considered in court cases
not usually
© 2006 musicbizclasses.com

10. Key Take-Aways
Copyright is AUTOMATIC, BUT, if song or
band may become important, it is always
best to register songs
Registering musical work allows author to
file for damages in court
Register works with the US Copyright
Office- www.copyright.gov
You do not need a lawyer to register
copyright or trademark BUT there is a fee
trademark,
to register
© 2006 musicbizclasses.com

11. For Educational Use Only
This slide presentation is part of the
Music Business Essentials series
series.
Contact
info@musicbizclasses.com
info@musicbizclasses com
for more information
© 2006 musicbizclasses.com