Copyright Question

[Just1L]

6 hours ago, tunesmithth said:

Tip #4 - For God sake, spend a couple dollars & get your finished material properly copyrighted.

Quick question on that. Lets say I have 10 songs for a CD I want to copyright. I myself have recorded them with my cheesy software but will have them mastered by someone else. Lets say I copyright them for this first CD. If I were to re-record them next year from scratch at a studio, would the copyright still hold? And, if I am copyrighting the first versions of these songs as stated above, would sending them pre-mastered matter or not, or should I wait?

Thanks for the links, they now be bookmarked.

 

I'm going to reply here Randy because John didn't want this thread cluttered up with responses & conversation. I got the impression he was looking to keep it as "tips-only". We can always hide this post later, should we choose. Onward.....

I am by no means an expert on this, but I believe the Library of Congress specifies each registrant have their best, most current version of the work on file. How much that actually matters, I honestly don't know. Because that's always been a part of their filing instructions, I've always done my best to comply. Many of my tunes, I've filed 3 & 4 versions of over the years. Typically, when I submit an updated version of something, it's done as part of a package of new material. For example...if I were to submit a new collective filing titled "Song by TEH, Volume 18", it might contain 5 brand new tunes + updated versions of 2 older ones. that way I avoid paying additional filing fees. When I submitt the updated versions, I usually number them ("The Usual Suspects 2", "The Usual Suspects 3", etc). That way, I have a reference point for the specific filing.

As for advice......were it me, I'd probably register the CD material pre-mastering (as unpublished works). Then file again after as "Published". As for possible re-records in years to come, I refer you to my earlier comments about stacking versions numerically. Hope this helps buddy!

Tom

Thank you Tom. Very good system to have. I’ll go with the unpublished then published option. Feel free to delete. Probably should have messaged.

Edited January 15, 2016 by tunesmithth
Retitled post & split off into new topic, moved into more appropriate site section

[MikeRobinson]

"In the eyes of the law" ... and this much is pretty-much true around the world ... "the thing that you are copyrighting is 'the song itself.'"  Not any particular expression of it.

 

(This, for instance, is why every "cover" of a popular song must pay royalties to the original author, even though each "cover" is obviously different from the original.)

 

The best practice is:  "before the song is ever published for the first time," copyright the song.  Then, if there is a particular expression of the song that you wish to further identify, you can also register the expression.  (This provision of the law exists specifically to protect those who need to say, "This is my cover of 'My Sweet Lord' ...")  This generally appears under the symbol, "circle-P."

 

(Bear in mind, however, that ... "if you can properly claim to own the blanket, then you need not [also] bother to lay claim to any particular bed upon which said blanket lies.")

 

Nevertheless:  In the United States, http://www.copyright.gov is a very thorough and definitive resource.  There is a lot(!) of material there.  Spend as much time as may be necessary ... carefully reading it.

Edited January 26, 2016 by MikeRobinson

[Just1L]

On January 16, 2016 at 6:26 PM, tunesmithth said:

Please let me know once the CD is available Randy.

I'd like to purchase a copy.

Thank you Tom. That's great of you. I've realized I'm probably only going to make one of these. So, I'm scrapping the EP and plan to do 10-12 songs. Which now will take longer and more moolah.  I do truly appreciate the kind sentiment. 

[Just1L]

12 hours ago, MikeRobinson said:

"In the eyes of the law" ... and this much is pretty-much true around the world ... "the thing that you are copyrighting is 'the song itself.'"  Not any particular expression of it.

 

(This, for instance, is why every "cover" of a popular song must pay royalties to the original author, even though each "cover" is obviously different from the original.)

 

The best practice is:  "before the song is ever published for the first time," copyright the song.  Then, if there is a particular expression of the song that you wish to further identify, you can also register the expression.  (This provision of the law exists specifically to protect those who need to say, "This is my cover of 'My Sweet Lord' ...")  This generally appears under the symbol, "circle-P."

 

(Bear in mind, however, that ... "if you can properly claim to own the blanket, then you need not [also] bother to lay claim to any particular bed upon which said blanket lies.")

 

Nevertheless:  In the United States, http://www.copyright.gov is a very thorough and definitive resource.  There is a lot(!) of material there.  Spend as much time as may be necessary ... carefully reading it.

Thanks a bunch Mike. I like the blanket/bed analogy.  Somethings awry with the link you posted but I just copied and pasted it. Muchos gracias. 

[Just1L]

I agree Tom and well said. Well, except I still don't have a smartphone. Luckily I don't have a job where I need one or where I'm expected to work 24/7.  I do need to do some CD purchasing and am guilty of not buying anyone's from here. I will say though, I personally bought one CD over the past two years. Not because I'm downloading from iTunes or streaming, I sadly have no real time to listen to music. I live a mile away from work and the car used to be my main music listening time. And we purchased a record player so I listen to my old records sometimes on the weekends. But yes, I agree whole-heartedly we're a good group that should be buying. Even if it's music you don't normally listen to, they could still make a great gift while also spreading the sound around.