How Copyright Works

copyright

Videos by American Songwriter

Copyright begins the moment you put your pen on a paper, press record in ProTools,  or start wailing away on your keyboard … in Sibelius.  I know, you thought something wasn’t protected by copyright law until you sent some money to the government along with a list of songs and respective lead sheets.

That isn’t the case, though there are certainly benefits to registering your work with Uncle Sam.

Copyright protection exists “when something is fixed in tangible form.”

Does that mean it’s easy to prove WHEN you created something?  Not always, especially if you just pen and papering everything.

Here’s where registering your copyright with the Library of Congress becomes important.  It creates a public record – you officially register your copyright with the government.  Registering provides legal advantages that protect against infringement and are generally helpful in court.

How long does copyright last?

While the term of copyright has gone through various iterations, the current life of copyright in the United States is the life of the author plus 70 years. This means if you live to be 90, your song will be protected until the END of the calendar year of your 160th birthday!

There are technicalities and exceptions to this, but for any work registered after 1978, you don’t need to worry too much about it.

Works for hire (which are typically sound recordings) have a copyright life of 95 years from first publication or 120 years from creation (whichever ends first).

What does copyright ownership entail?

There are 5 key elements which you can either exploit or assign to others with a publisher, label, or third-party music sync licensing company.

First and foremost you can reproduce the work. You can print sheet music copies, sell albums, and generally distribute the work however you see fit.

You can create what’s called a ‘derivative’ work. This basically means if you write a song for ukelele, toy piano, cello and bass harmonica, you can then re-arrange the work for electric guitar, electric keyboard, bass trombone and a chorus of burly men. It also means you can record that on CD and 20 years later, re-record it on vinyl.

Remember earlier when I said you could reproduce the work?  Well you can give it away for free or charge money for it.

Public performance is also a lovely benefit of owning a song.  You can play it anywhere, at any time for an audience. Even if that audience is sitting at home watching TV and hear your  song because it got placed in a tv show or commercial.

Performance through a digital medium is also granted. This means you can play your song over internet radio or allow it to be used in conjunction with a YouTube video.

So if you’ve got a body of work and have been worrying about its protection, rest assured that legally and technically you’re covered.

However, put yourself in the most powerful position and protect your music by registering with the library of congress ASAP!  Don’t forget that your sound recordings can be registered as copyrights too.

Andy Lykens is a music branding and marketing specialist for Imagem Music, the world’s largest independent music publisher. Follow him here.

2 Comments

Leave a Reply

Leave a Reply

Philip Lawrence: Bruno Mars’ Right Hand Man Goes Solo