Poor Man's Copyright

[JustJono]

If you don't have the time or money to copyright your material, simply mail the original file (ex: cd, tape) to yourself. Keep all the mailing information. It shows the date that you sent it (so basically the date that you owned and had it).

It isn't always enough to hold up in court, but it's better than nothing.

[SuperGreenX]

Yea, I've heard of that method. I wanna do the hardcore copyright though :).

[SpookG]

Yeha, I do that one all the time.. lol...

[squarebear]

This is a popular myth. The poor man's copyright offers no legal protection at all as it's so easy to fake.
I could mail an empty envelope to myself, wait until a great CD came out then put the CD in the envelope and seal it and I would have what would appear to be a copy of the CD long before it was released.

If you are serious about your music, the only real way to do this is to spend money and do it properly. Also, keep copies of all your source files (the .flp or the reason file) associated with your tracks. That way you could show a court of law how you made the track whereas the person who was ripping you off would not have this.

[JustJono]

Ouais, Squarebear a raison.

But I only meant it as a way to get you started. And yes, keep the original source file, because I don't think you can forge creation dates on a computer.

[QreepyBORIS]

Legally, all your stuff is copyrighted if you have proof you macde it. You dont need the "c" thing. I realize this is an old thread.

[djaero]

It's only $30 a cd to copyright, so it's not going to empty your bank account in doing so. After spending countless hours on your music, 30 bucks really isnt that large of a price to pay. As for mailing a cd to yourself, it won't stand up in court, so just pay the money and register your copyright. And yes, creation dates CAN be forged, so look out.
You can find a copyright form here: http://www.copyright.gov/forms/
The form you need is Form SR.

-Dj Aerogroove

[JustJono]

Patent costs...?

[SuperGreenX]

Aero, when you copyright a CD, are the images in your CD cover and such also copyrighted?

[Anonymous]

What if we just want to copyright a song, and nothing more?

[DJCynispin]

My katana is all the copyright protection I need...

That's something I might say, if I had a katana. So instead I say,
I think I'll suck it up and pay to keep people from stealing my %&$@.

[djaero]

When you send in a cd with the SR form, only the music on the cd or tape is copyrigted, not any of the artwork associated with it. And if you only want to copyright just a song or two, the price is still the same, so I suggest waiting till you have enough for a whole cd, or you could send it in right now and pay the $30.

[DJCynispin]

I can't do it that way though, cause you kinda have to release dance floor tracks as singles so you stay current with your music and production. And it will probably be a while before I'm comfortable with enough songs to make a cd.


HOWEVER, YOU HYBRID FANS WILL BE HAPPY TO KNOW I JUST GOT AN UPFRONT PROMO FROM HIM ON WHITELABLE AND WILL BE SPINNING IT SUNDAY. The name of the track is "High as a Skyscraper".

[JustJono]

Congrats!

But again, what are patent costs?

[djaero]

What do you mean by patent costs? As far as I know, patents are for ideas, inventions etc, and not music. I don't think music can be patented but it can be copyrighted.

[JustJono]

I thought you needed a patent in order to sell albums.

[djaero]

You do not need anything to sell special to sell your music. A copyright is just to make sure nobody steals your material, or if they do steal it, you can prove its yours.

[JustJono]

So I can copyright a CD, then.. sell it? I don't have to cover any legal issues?

[SpookG]

If Squarebear could clear this up for everyone, i think that'd be great ;)

[squarebear]

Ok, if you wish to sell an album then it is highly advisable to copyright your material. This will give you legal protection if anyone tries to rip your music off. Oh and by copyrighting, I don't mean send it to yourself in an envelope. Do it properly via ASCAP or whatever the copyright body is in the US.

You cannot patent your music, as patents are designed to protect inventions rather than intellectual property such as music, books, movies etc.

If you had been the first caveman (or whoever) that had invented music, you could have patented it but it would mean that no-one else would have been able to make music without paying you!

Hope that helps.

[djaero]

So I can copyright a CD, then.. sell it? I don't have to cover any legal issues?

Yes

[Jello]

patents arent just for ideas.. its also for the way things are made like producing a certain material like a special steel for instance. if you have a certain process for making the steel you can patent it and have people pay you for it if they want to make the steel, but yea its also for ideas. theres also patent pending which you can say you have. which means that its not very advisable to copy whatever you plan on copying because if the patent goes through and you copied it you can get in big trouble.

[DJCynispin]

The only problem you would have with selling CDs is if you had sampled material, or if you had made enough money from the music that Uncle Sam wanted a cut...