Poor Man's Copyright - What It Is And How To Do It

Before we go any further it is important to realise that I am not a qualified music attorney and this method of copyrighting has a lot of debate surrounding it as to whether it does actually hold up in court. Therefore, I am merely going to explain to you how it works and how to do it, it is up to you what you do with the information I provide. You should always seek the advice from a professional music attorney about serious matters!

So What Is Poor Man's Copyright?

Poor man's copyright is a way of copyrighting your songs on the cheap by using registered post.

How Does Poor Man's Copyright Work?

The theory behind it is quite simple. When you send anything via registered post the envelope is dated and sealed with a security sticker. So what you do is place printed lyrics, a CD with your song, info about the songwriters and the date of creation in an envelope, post it to yourself via registered post and then store it somewhere safe. Once the seal isn't broken then you have proof of possession for what ever is in the envelope.

How To Do It?
Put the song that you wish to copyright into an envelope (CD or mp3 as well as the lyric sheet and info about the songwriters and date of creation).Seal all the material in an envelope and your home address on it.Go to your local post office and mail the material to yourself by using your country's registered postal service.When it arrives put it somewhere safe and DO NOT OPEN IT! (if you do open it then the seal becomes broken and it becomes worthless)If someone plagiarises your material then you can bring the envelope to court and use it as proof of creation.

Flaws Surrounding This Method Of Copyright

This is not the legal way of copyrighting your music and to date there have been no cases of this actually standing up in court. The main reason why this method is so flawed is that it can be faked.

Your probably thinking to yourself "Why would I bother if it doesn't actually hold up in court". Well I can see your point but what a lot of songwriters do is use this method while they are waiting for their real copyright to go through the copyright office. This gives them a bit of reassurance should they want to post their songs online, etc., while they are waiting.

If you found this songwriting article interesting and would like to learn some more tips and techniques then why not check out Free Songwriting Tips.

Craig S.

http://www.world-of-songwriting.com/

Professional Songwriter & Musician.

View the original article here

Song Copyright - What Is and Isn't Protected

Copyright law has been in existence for many years to assist and safeguard the creators of such things as artwork, literary works, photographs/images and songs. Being a songwriter you will need to know exactly how music copyright law works and ways in which you are able to make use of it to safeguard your music. This article will let you know exactly what is and isn't protected underneath music copyright law.

Before we begin I just need to emphasize to you that I 'm definitely not a music attorney! The tips I provide come from my own personal knowledge, experience and info I've obtained throughout my songwriting years. And for that reason it is always wise to consult with a specialist music attorney with regard to serious issues!

Music Copyright laws -- What On Earth Is Protected?

So what is protected under music copyright law In the event you possess the copyright. This is what can be done with your songs.

Reproduction Privileges: The copyright owner has the right to reproduce lyrics or music.

The Distribution Rights: The legal right to distribute the music or lyrics possibly for free of charge, for virtually no profit, or for profit.

Performance: The legal right to perform the songs in public areas.

Play In Public Areas: You are able to play your music in public places by means of Compact Disc, Mp3 and so on.

Derivative: The legal right to produce a by-product by using the original piece of music for us in public areas in all forms, i.e. employ a different arrangement, using different musicians etc.

Music Copyright laws -- What Exactly Is Not Protected?

This is a list of things that are not protected under copyright law so you will never have to worry about copyright infringement under these areas.

Titles or Short Sentences: Imagine if somebody might have copyrighted the words "Happy Christmas", "I Love You" or even "Home" as a song title?

Chord Progressions: There exists only so many chords, therefore only a multitude of chord combos which can be created from all of them, hence, in the event you could possibly copyright a chord progression then we would certainly run out of progressions for brand new songs extremely fast.

Concepts/Ideas: 'Girl falls for boy', 'boy misses girl', 'sexual attraction', 'no money' just how frequently have you noticed all these ideas being made use of in songs?

Rhythmic Patterns: Even though you can certainly copyright specific recordings of rhythms you are most definitely unable to copyright the particular rhythmic patterns.

If you found this songwriting article interesting and would like to learn some more tips and techniques then why not check out my website Free Songwriting Tips.

Craig S.

http://www.world-of-songwriting.com/

Professional Songwriter & Musician.

View the original article here