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Use this Link to go to the United States Government Copy Right Laws. Forms, etc. Copyright Laws
Copyright laws are perhaps the most confusing part of the business of songwriting. To protect themselves, all song-
writers and artists should have a basic understanding of the laws and the copyright registration process. To make it easier to use this chapter, the information has been arranged in question and answer format.
Q: What does the copyright law allow you to do as a songwriter?
A: The copyright law provides the following protections: the right to make and sell copies of your original song anywhere in the world in the form of sheet music, records, tapes and CDs; the right to perform your song for an audience; the right to display your written song in public; the right to lease your song; the right to will your song to your heirs; and the right to decide who will record your song first. As the songwriter, you are the only person entitled to these rights, unless you wrote your song for hire or in collaboration with someone else. You alone can provide others with permission to use your song.
Q: Are you entitled to these same protections if your song was written for hire?
A: No. If you were hired to write a song (a jingle for a product or business, for example), the person or business that hired you controls the copyright. If you have any questions about your rights to the song, you should check your contract with the company that hired you.
Q: Is it true that you do not have to register your song to receive protection under the copyright law?
A: Technically, it is true that registration is not necessary. The law states that as soon as the song is finished (that is, as soon as it is either written down or recorded), it is automatically protected.
Q.-Why should you register your song, then?
A: Although copyright registration does not actually provide additional protection for a song, the fact that you created an original song on a certain date becomes a matter of public record as soon as the song is registered with the Library of Congress. This makes it easier to sue if someone uses your song without permission because there will be no question about the date you created the song. In addition, if your song is registered, you will be able to sue for statutory damages - set penalties established by law - rather than just suing for the amount of money you lost due to the other person's unauthorized use of your song. (It is harder to prove that you have lost money than it is to prove that someone has violated the copyright law.) Also, if your song is registered, you are more likely to be reimbursed for your lawyer's fees as part of a lawsuit settlement.
Q: If you have a song that you finished years ago, but never registered? is it too late?
A: No, you can register a song at anytime. The registration date, however, will reflect the date you filled out the form, not the date you completed the song.
Q: Do you have to wait until your song has been published or released to register it?
A: No. You can register your song as soon as it is written down or recorded,
Q: What is the first thing you need to do to register?
A: You must fill out an application form, which can be obtained from the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. Usually, to register an original song, you will need Form PA (see sample, pages 23-24). This form is for the registration of published or unpublished works of the performing arts. You can register both your music and your lyrics through this form by following the detailed instructions that come with the form.
Q: How can you get a form?
A: You can get a form by calling the twenty-four-hour Copyright Office Hot- line at (202) 707-9100 and leaving a message on the recorder. Once you have received a form, you are permitted to photocopy it if you want to register more than one song. The photocopy must be on good grade white 81/2" x 11" paper that can be fed automatically through a photocopier.
Q: How long will it take the copyright office to mail you your form?
A: It usually takes two to three weeks.
Q: How much does it cost to register your song?
A: As of January 3, 1991, the registration fee is $20. You must mail a check or money order, payable to Register of Copyrights, covering this fee. The $10 fee was raised to $20 when the copyright act was amended in 1990. The fees are due for another adjustment in January 1995.
Q: What should you send with the form and the check or money order?
A: If your work has not yet been published, you must send one complete copy or phono record (record, tape or CD) of your work. If the work has been published, you must send two complete copies or one phono record of the best edition. If your work was first published outside the United States, you must send one complete copy or phono record of the first foreign edition. If you have contributed to a collective work (i.e., a musical, etc.), you must send one complete copy or phono record of the best edition of the collective work. These are called deposits.
Q: Where should you send the form?
A: The form should be sent to the following address: Register of Copyrights, Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington DC 20559.
Q: How do you register a song written in collaboration with someone else? What about the songs used in a musical for which someone else wrote the libretto?
A: There is space on Form PA to list all the collaborators. When a collaborated work is copyrighted, the copyright is owned by all the collaborators.
Q: Where can you get more information about registering your song?
A: You can call the Copyright Office's Public Information Office at (202) 707- 3000. Recorded information is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, but if you want to talk to someone, you must call between 8:30 A.M. and 5:00 P.m. Eastern Time, Monday-Friday.
Q: What if you don't want to pay $20 for every song you write? Is there any way around this?
A: You can register a group of songs under one copyright by placing them together in a packet and naming the collection (for example, Joe Smoe's Songs, 1993). This title alone will appear on the official registration papers. (Names of individual songs will not.) To register a compilation of songs, you must have written all of them by yourself While the Copyright Office will keep every song in your compilation on file, this method of registration is slightly more risky than registering each individual song, because authorship is more difficult to prove this way.
Q: What if You Change your song after it has been registered?
A: You can re-register the song by filling out Form PA again and specifying on line six that you are registering a derivative work.
Q: How long does the registration stay on file? Will you need to renew it?
A: That depends on when you wrote your song. In a nutshell, here are the general laws pertaining to length of copyright protection:
For songs written after January 1, 1978-If you wrote your song after January 1, 1978 (when amendments to the 1909 copyright law went into effect), you do not need to renew your registration. Your song is protected until fifty years after you have died; then, it goes into the public domain.
For songs written between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977-A 1992 law makes renewal optional for songs copyrighted between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977. The copyrights on these songs will be automatically renewed, and the copyright will last until fifty years after your death. However, even though the copyright automatically renews itself, if you do not file to renew your registration, you forfeit any statutory damages and attorney fees if you win a copyright infringement suit.
For songs written before January 1, 1964 - If your song was written before January 1, 1964, your copyright is effective for twenty-eight years after the date of registration, at which time the copyright must be renewed. The renewal lasts for an additional forty-seven years, so if you renew your copyright, it is good for a total of seventy-five years.
Q. How long does the registration process take?
A: Although the registration date will reflect the date you filled out the form, and not the date your form was processed, you should hear from the copyright office within sixteen weeks. You will either receive a certificate of registration, a letter stating that your request for registration has been denied, or a phone call or letter asking you to clarify some information. Because of the volume of mail the copyright office receives each day, the office cannot answer questions about the status of your application over the phone before sixteen weeks have passed. If you want to make sure that the office receives your form, send it registered or certified mail, and request a receipt. Even if you do this, however, you should wait at least three weeks to receive the receipt.
Q. What if you need proof of registration before the form has been processed?
A: You have to pay a fee if you need information about your application for registration before sixteen weeks have passed. Call the Copyright Office at (202) 707-3000 for more information.
Q: When your song is published, what happens to the copyright? Is it still solely yours?
A: That depends on your contract with the publisher, so read it carefully before signing. The standard procedure is that when your song is published,
you agree to share the copyright with the publisher. If your contract follows this procedure, you can request to have the full copyright returned to you thirty-five years after the song is published. Any royalties your song earns thirty-five or more years after it is published will revert to you. Be wary of contracts where the publisher receives sole control of the copyright at the time of publication; if you sign a contract like this, you are actually giving away your song or selling it outright.
Q: Can you sue a person for infringement of copyright and receive compensation even if the person has not made any money by using your song?
A: Yes. You can sue the person for statutory damages -damages that are set by law for breaking the copyright laws -as long as your song is registered. If your song has not been registered, you cannot be compensated for statutory damages and can sue only for the money the individual has made from the sale or performance of your song. Check with your lawyer for more technical information regarding a lawsuit.
Q: What can you do if someone steals the title of your song?
A: The copyright laws do not protect titles.
Q: What can you do if you think someone has stolen the theme or idea of your song?
A: The copyright laws do not protect ideas.
Q: What if only a small part of a song's melody sounds similar, or a few lines of your lyrics are used in a song that otherwise does not resemble your song at all? Can you still sue?
A: You must be able to prove that the song has "substantial similarity" to the song you wrote. The two tests that a court uses to prove this are (1) expert witnesses must testify that the melodic construction and the general idea is the same and (2) after listening to both songs, a jury must decide whether they sound alike or close enough that one could be mistaken for another. There is no particular number of bars, words or notes that can be legally copied, so each case is unique.
Q: Do you give up any rights to your song when you give someone permission to use it?
A: No. Granting permission to use your work does not affect your rights to a song. As long as you own the copyright, you retain all rights to the song. When you give someone permission to use the song, you are still entitled to the writer's share of any revenue the song makes.
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