Copyright and songs? Is my work protected?

777funk · 02-08-2012, 11:39 AM

Just wondering what's involved with posting a song on my website and keeping it mine?

Not that I have anything worth stealing but you know. I'd hate to spend weeks writing and recording etc for nothing.

Curious how that works? I know web documents are copyrighted when posted.

Jedi · 02-08-2012, 11:46 AM

You can copyright all you want... but once you put a song
on a site to be downloaded, it's "out there". If you have
the legal / investigative wherewithal to track down offenders,
and the bankroll to make that happen - sure you can protect
your rights.

But the RIAA has been wrestling with this for 15 years and
illegal "song sharing" still is rampant in the interwebz.

I'd say if you don't want something stolen, don't put it
on a web site for download. I mean, if you're really concerned.
Stick with physical media - not perfect but better than
a download.

Just my 2 cents...

Jedi

HugoRibeiroDotCom · 02-08-2012, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 777funk

Just wondering what's involved with posting a song on my website and keeping it mine?

Not that I have anything worth stealing but you know. I'd hate to spend weeks writing and recording etc for nothing.

Curious how that works? I know web documents are copyrighted when posted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright

I think if you can prove that the song is yours, even by the recording files(DAW files) you have of the recording, you're not in danger from someone else stealing your tunes.

Its the digital age. Everything is on computers.

cheers

777funk · 02-08-2012, 12:09 PM

Well Hugo you may be right. I tend to bet that it's more like what Jedi mentioned.

Proof you say??? Yes, but do you have the bucks to get our lawyers to listen to your proof.

At least that's the way I'd bet it'd go.

Curious though what others have to say. Who knows maybe it's a better world than that.

Analogy · 02-08-2012, 12:33 PM

Yes, putting a file on a publicly-accessible web site in a way that members of the public can download it for free will result in members of the public downloading it for free.

God, I can't believe I just had to explain that to anyone who has actually spent time on the internet.

tls11823 · 02-08-2012, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Analogy

Yes, putting a file on a publicly-accessible web site in a way that members of the public can download it for free will result in members of the public downloading it for free.

God, I can't believe I just had to explain that to anyone who has actually spent time on the internet.

Do you think maybe he's just worried about others claiming the work as their own? Isn't that what copyright is all about?

msore · 02-08-2012, 01:16 PM

The early parts of intellectual property protection (including copyright) include announcing you are protecting it, registering it with official sources (like the Library of Congress, etc), and putting Copyright warnings on all the copies of the product.

The later and more difficult parts include doing due diligence to see if anyone is out there violating your rights, and taking legal steps to prevent that, which might include writing cease and desist letter and/or filing suit.

It is up for grabs, however, once you get outside of a legal jurisdiction that enforces these rights.

HImey Himron · 02-08-2012, 01:18 PM

Claiming copyright is pretty simple really. I think the enforcement end is where issues lie.

In any case, to copyright your material simply go to the copyright office website and file a copyright claim. It costs $35 US last time I checked.

http://www.copyright.gov/eco/

You can fill out and upload a deposit directly. I think you can also send them a hard copy if necessary. (they prefer digital since 9-11).

I haven't sat with a copyright lawyer to verify but from what I understand as soon as you digitally record something there is a sort of "implied" copyright inherent with the file and it's internal date stamp.

HTH

J

Boray · 02-08-2012, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 777funk

Proof you say??? Yes, but do you have the bucks to get our lawyers to listen to your proof.

If someone steels your song and makes lots of money on it, then I'm sure some lawyer will smell the money enough to take on your case. And when you got your rightful compensation, maybe you just should be happy that someone else was successful in promoting your music instead of getting nowhere with it yourself!

msore · 02-08-2012, 01:31 PM

DevonPete said, and it is correct in a way,

"Anyone who creates any work of art is automatically the copyright owner."

Many problems arise however, when someone steals yer shit and puts their name on it or uses it in crappy ways. If I claim your stuff as mine, does that "automatically" protect me? No.

The whole problem is terribly aggravated, we should note, by the emergence of a couple of generations who have REJECTED the whole notion of intellectual property and its protection.

Analogy · 02-08-2012, 01:57 PM

Attribution is an entirely separate issue from copyright. There is no protection against misattribution in the law itself, if someone claims your work as theirs and distributes it, they are guilty of copyright infringement because they distributed your work without a license, not because they claimed it as their own. If you distribute your work under a license that allows free redistribution and does not require attribution, it would be perfectly legal for that person to redistribute it under their own name.

One of the Creative Commons licenses is generally a good idea to attach to your work... Pick an appropriate one here: http://creativecommons.org/choose/

Fabian · 02-08-2012, 02:23 PM

As Analogy points out, there are two (at least) sides to this coin... One issue is someone other than you claiming to have written, recorded, mixed, and/or produced the song. The other issue is someone without your permission copying and distributing it to others.

The big problem for most artists (I think it is fair to say) is neither of those two issues, but it is that no-one knows about the artist...

peter5992 · 02-08-2012, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HugoRibeiroDotCom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright

I think if you can prove that the song is yours, even by the recording files(DAW files) you have of the recording, you're not in danger from someone else stealing your tunes.

Its the digital age. Everything is on computers.

cheers

Anyone who creates an original work has a copyright in that work, even without registration. Registration of your copyright in the US with the Copyright Office offers a couple of additional benefits:

a. You can't sue anyone in a US court for copyright infringement unless you have registered your copyright

b. In case of a copyright infringement, even if you can't prove actual damages, you can claim statutory damages of up to $ 150,000

c. You can recover your lawyer's fees

d. You have a 'prima facie' evidence that you were the first one to create the work and that it's yours.

It takes a while for the Copyright Office to send you the certificate, but you're protected right from the moment they receive it. If you have a lot of work out there that is being performed / played it is a good idea to register everything every 3 months. If you do it as a collection you only pay $ 35 for all the works in the collection. It can be done electronically.

This registration process is unique to the US asfar as I know; I haven't heard of any other country in the world that has a similar system but I stand to be corrected if that isn't true.

That's the legal / theoretical side; in reality, the moment you put something online, there will be people trying to rip you off. Whether it is worthwile to pursue your rights very much depends on the economics (lawyers don't work for free).

Runaway · 02-08-2012, 02:47 PM

How timely is this given that Superbowl advert and the aussie band the John Butler Trio.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/mor...-1226264354644

Cosmic · 02-08-2012, 04:56 PM

Stick it on youtube.Thats proof that the song was yours first.

emanresu · 02-09-2012, 07:22 AM

..or send an email to yourself with the score or something.
Anyway:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llorando_se_fue

Kjarkas got money with no effort

An official live performance with video recording will be most easy and solid proof..

Analogy · 02-09-2012, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DevonPete

Think long and hard before issuing your work with a Creative Commons Licence. Yes you can retain Copyright but it grants the rights for anyone to re-issue your work as their own in part or whole, change it, modify as they see fit and worst of all if they make any money from it there is no obligation to pay you anything whatsoever! They make money from your work and you get nothing except a cursory credit to your name as originator. That's all!

All CC licenses prohibit re-attribution, and there are CC licenses which disallow derivative works and which disallow commercial usage. It's right there on the page I linked to. You're either illiterate, lazy, or are intentionally spreading misinformation.