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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [Note: Of course, not being a lawyer - or of the legal profession - I cannot offer official, guaranteed advice regarding the law. My opinions below are based on close study of the copyright "law-system" (incl. both primary and secondary sources) but should not be construed as legally nuanced or binding. I.e., check with your lawyer or other legal source before relying on the suggestions below to protect your original work and to avoid infringing on others' rights! Finally, it should be noted that this Q & A was adapted from actual correspondence.] A: I'm happy to be able to answer your copyright question. Since 1976 (or 78), copyright law acknowledges copyright of any original material automatically and immediately upon its being "fixed in a tangible form of expression." This means that - for each of your works that has been notated (manuscript/staff paper), audio recorded (cassette/CD/etc.) or mechanically recorded (MIDI data saved in a computer file) - you own copyright...automatically from the time of its "fixation". No "registration" is necessary for your work to be officially recognized as *yours* by our legal system. However, as a technicality, if you ever wanted to sue another for infringement, you would then be required to "file for copyright registration." Nevertheless, your copyright origination would be considered to have been effective - not merely from the date of "registration" (or filing) but rather - from the earlier date of true "fixation in a tangible form of expression." Again, "filing for registration" no longer gives any greater force of law to one's copyright, i.e., you already own copyright (from the time of "fixing it into a tangible form of expression") without regard to registration, but if it were to come to it - in order to defend it in court - you would first be required to "register" the work(s) in question. As you can imagine, an owner would do well to "document" the earliest possible "fixed copy" of his/her work. Some have used postal stamps (i.e., send it to yourself in a sealed envelope), others the seal of a Notary Public. Many formally file for registration ASAP (in other words, they "document" via their registration with the US Copyright Office). This latter - though not necessary to secure copyright - reduces risk (by securing the most indisputable, official documentation). But there is a cost to register (currently $30 for each application), so some artists register a group of works as one "volume," "book," "collection" or "opus" of works. ...or simply wait until they have reason to defend their copyright. [Most sole composers can probably use the "Short Form PA" to register their copyright(s). This is a fill-in form, so just enter/type your registration info into the form as it is displayed on-screen, then print out and mail to the Copyright Office (print one for your records as well).] [There are possible downsides to registering a large group of songs as one collection, in that others may, under "fair use" (e.g., educational) copy a larger block of the compiled work. There is no clear "line" here, but if the work is 46 measures long, others may freely reproduce, say 2-3 measures; however, if you have compiled 10 songs of 46 measures each, some say, others have a better argument for quoting 20-30 measures. Now, that could amount to half of one "song"! That having been said, my reading indicates the courts are being stricter about "fair use" and you may do just as well to register works in a compilation. However, if you want to be certain, register them separately.] Finally, aside from documenting (as per above), the most important thing is to affix to the work the appropriate notice (the preferred locations for "Copyright Notice" are on the inside/back of "title page" and 1st actual page of the work). [Note: Affixing the "Copyright Notice" is no longer legally required, but a good case can be made that including it in a prominent location on the work minimizes risk of another's claiming "innocent infringement."] Here is, traditionally, what you should affix - and in this precise order (although the Copyright Office recommendations deviate slightly, this traditional scheme would still be preferred as more indisputably clear!): © Copyright [Year of First Fixation in a Tangible Form] [Composer's/Entity's Legal Name] So, for example, if I composed a work this afternoon and jotted it onto manuscript paper, I would add at the bottom of the (1st page of the) score the following (without the quotation marks): "© Copyright 2001 Barry A. Sindlinger" If you are reading this as I have typed it, you will see the appropriate "copyright symbol" in the example above. Make sure that the "copyright symbol" is truly a "c" enclosed by a "circle" - not just a "c" surrounded by "parentheses," as in (c). This is an official symbol! If you are on the computer, using the font "Times New Roman" (in your word processor or notation program), just enter Alt-0169 (hold down the Alt key while entering the numbers 0169). Voila! [Many notation programs will make the addition of the copyright symbol/notice more intuitive.] Now, with the 1. "copyright notice" affixed, your work is officially copyrighted (but not yet documented as to date of origination/fixation). It's that simple! Simply follow up by 2. "documenting" the earliest possible date of "fixation in that tangible form" (any "documenting/witnessing" scheme is better than none, but the methods above are accepted practice). If you wish - but after you document your earliest possible date of "fixation in a tangible form"! - you may send me a copy of your work for my (informed but obviously not legally enforceable) opinion. Also, I could recommend a good volume or two on the subject (one is esp. slim but written by a lawyer in layman's language!). May God bless you and yours...! It certainly encourages me to hear of your continued work in music, esp. your progress in "creating music"!!
Yours for Christian Excellence...and Private Ownership of Creative, Intellectual Property,
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