Do You Copyright Your Music?
I know. Stupid question right? Well not as stupid as you may think. I just finished an interview with an attorney who practices entertainment and creative business law and according to him, this is the one area that most musicians suck at. Ask yourself… What’s $30 to $45 dollars to protect your creative talent? Ok – you probably know that by putting your song down on paper or recording it onto a CD or any digital format that it’s automatically copyright protected, right. But did you know that if you haven’t properly registered your music, and by that I mean with the U.S. or the Canadian Copyright Offices, then you’re going to have a hard time getting damages if someone decides to rip off your music? Wow!
I’m sure you’ve heard of “The Poor Man’s Copyright”. Mailing a copy of your recording or your song written down to yourself in the hopes of proving that you are in fact the copyright owner. Well know this… That “urban myth” is a crock of doggy doo doo. The only thing that this is going to do for you is prove that you had your hands on the song before someone else. It does not prove that you own the copyright. Are you getting the warm and fuzzies. Nah, you’re probably breaking into a hot flash of the sweats.
The only way to properly protect your music in the event that someone tries to rip you off, is by having it registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. In Canada you’ll be sending your written song to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. They’re in the process of updating some changes that have been in place since June 2, 2007. I know, we in Canada have our thumbs in some dark places and really need to get our act together when it comes to copyright procedures but hey… that’s the way tune plays out up here.
Anyway, I’ll try to make this as easy for you to understand as possible. You know, so you don’t get burned. If you don’t think your music is worth the $30 to $45 bucks it costs to properly cover your ass… then maybe you’re not really serious about this music thing. Maybe you should get yourself an office job. Yeah… Lock yourself in a cubicle because you don’t think your music is worth the plastic and tin that you recorded it on.
If this isn’t you then step up and fire off those registrations because if someone does rip off your stuff and you don’t have this in place… You’re not going to be getting the big dinero (that’s Spanish for money) that you’re going to need to pay for those fat lawyer fees.
Interested in copyright protection for your songs now?
For more information on how to copyright protect your music visit the following sites:
United States: http://www.copyright.gov
Canada: http://www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/wr00037.html
Comments
2 Comments on Do You Copyright Your Music?
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Johnny Rock on
Mon, 14th Dec 2009 8:18 pm
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Duss Rodgers on
Mon, 18th Jan 2010 9:10 am
Great information! I didn’t realize that actual registration was so important. I’ll be sure to properly register my songs from now on! Thanks.
I’m glad you found this info helpful my friend…
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