Copyrights and Songwriting

It’s a little-known fact that a work is copy written from the moment of its creation.  That song you wrote in the middle of the night on a notepad by your bed is yours.  You made it and you own it.  That’s not to say someone might try to take it from you, either on purpose or inadvertently.

There were and are many ways we were told in the past to protect copyright.  One was to mail a copy of the completed work to yourself.  If unopened, the work is protected and is your domain.  This was also said to work with email by emailing a copy of the finished (or work in progress) to your email address.  Supposedly, that shows you are the only one who could have been the author.

It’s much easer and more sensible to actually apply for copyright through the Office of Copyright.  Although many people don’t do this, it’s often because they don’t know how to go about it.  There is much help online and with a little research this process is relatively easy.

For a minimal fee, you fill out a form, mail it with your payment to the Office of Copyright, and receive a certificate of registration.  This means that no one can duplicate your work and call it his own.  Remember, titles cannot be copy written, so that issue is settled.

In the case of a song, if you submit a tune and words, the first nine bars of the music cannot be the same as another work of art.  If it is, it will be rejected as  possible copyright infringement.  This is often done inadvertently – a song you’ve known forever creeps into your head and you add it to your music without even realizing it.  Don’t worry, the Copyright Office will catch this error and send you a nice letter making you aware of the problem.  They ask that you change the music and resubmit.  

That’s all there is to it – easy!

Here’s the link for the Copyright Office:

http://www.copyright.gov/