What is Copyrightable
& How Do I Do It
09-29-11
After years of producing music locally Project Pleasure Productions has ventured out, to turn concepts into to cash. In our opening series of blogs we have dedicated ourselves to detailing the process of getting ones music out.
When discussing issues regarding business, often times those that have never personally researched the topic are the first to offer up advice. However, like most other things in life you would prefer to get guidance from a professional. (One that has slightly more experience on the topic than you). Here we will discuss a couple commonly discussed methods of copyrighting.
Prior to seeking copyright protection one should realize what exactly is covered. According to www.copyright.gov and “Copyright Basics”, copyrights are meant to protect:
… a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section "What Works Are Protected."
This in no way covers websites, domains, band names or ideas (unless written). However, in some cases it may cover the way in which an idea is expressed.
Once you have established that first, you have something and it is eligible for copyrighting, you must secondly determine what route you would like to go about. In theory, there are many ways to do this however here we will highlight two commonly discussed Poor mans copyright and Government copyright.
The poor mans copyright, often talked about as an alternative to the official copyright has been a method used by many for years. However after exploring the www.copyright.gov site one realizes this is far from a suitable alternative.
The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a “poor man’s copyright.” There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration (Copyright in general, 2010).
How to obtain an official copyright for your music, refer to this site: http://www.calliopebb.wordpress.com/2011/02/06/copyright-yo-shit-the-step-by-step-guide/. This is perhaps one of the only methods honored by the US justice system. Non the less it is a time intensive process, well worth the investment.
Stay tuned for next time when we discuss how to distribute music!
Reference:
What does copyright protect . (2010, september 13). Retrieved from http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-protect.html
Copyright in general. (2006, July 12). Retrieved from http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html
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