Copyright Law And You!

[ZStriefel]

Hello there, Audio Portal. We get a lot of questions about copyright law here and a lot of people are given false information and we don't want to see our fellow NGers get in trouble! So refer to this if you have any questions about copyright law. And of course you can always PM me or reply to this if you have further questions.

1. What is copyright?
Protection given to authors which allows them to control and profit from their work.

2. When is a song copyrighted?
When you "fix it in a tangible form" (record it or write it down).

3. How do you let people know you are the copyright owner of a song?
Put your "Notice" on it. e.g. © 2005 Super Cool Band Name

4. Is the "poor man's copyright" (mailing it to yourself) a valid way to protect
your music? NO! You should register it with the U.S. Copyright Office.

5. What benefits do you get by registering your song?
%u2022 You can collect mechanical royalties.
%u2022 You can sue an infringer in federal court.
%u2022 You can collect lots of damages including your attorneys' fees.

6. To register your song, send the following to the U. S. Copyright Office:
%u2022 Form PA (Properly filled out)
%u2022 A "Deposit Copy" of your song and the appropriate fee ($45)
%u2022 A lyric sheet (optional. but a good idea)
Send your package by "Certified Mail - Return Receipt Requested."

7. Who has the right to commercially release a song the first time?
The copyright owner of the song.

8. Once a song has been commercially released, who can then record it?
Anyone - as long as they obtain a Mechanical License.

Mechanical License:
Any artist who wants to record someone else's song for release must get a mechanical license. This license requires the artist to pay mechanical royalties(currently, 1.9 cents per unit sold).

Where do you go to get a mechanical license?
HARRY FOX AGENCY (HFA)
A Company which handles the mechanical licensing requirements for many publishers.
When you want to get a mechanical license, start by contacting HFA..

WHAT YOU CAN COPYRIGHT:
Original works of authorship that are "fixed in a tangible medium of expression" (either
recorded or written down), including: Music (with no words), Words & Music (Songs),
Lyrics, Sound Recordings. Once you "fix" it, you own the copyright for life + 70 years,
unless you sign it over to a company or person(s).

WHAT YOU CANNOT COPYRIGHT:
Works not "fixed in a tangible medium," Song Titles*, Company Names*, Common
Musical Phrases, Chord Progressions, Ideas, Concepts, Company Slogans*, etc.
*Don't think you can just automatically use someone else's title or slogan, however. These may be
protected under other laws, such as Trademark or Unfair Competition Laws.

"Sound-Alikes":
A. A "Sound-Alike" is a re-creation or imitation of a portion of a recording.
B. A "Sound-Alike" is a SUBSTITUTE for sampling. (It is not a sampling technique.)
If you re-create a recognizable portion of a song, you must get a Mechanical License.

SAMPLING
A. You must get clearances from the copyright holder of the recording AND the
copyright holder of the song.
B. They can cost a fortune.
C. Not getting them could cost even more (if you get sued).
D. There are no "2-seconds" or "4-Bars" rules.
E. Obscuring a sample doesn't make it legal.
F. Beware of Sample compilation CDs. You may not be able to use them for
recordings.
G. The engineer needs to be protected (indemnified) from sample infringements
by your clients.
H. Unfair Competition laws also apply to us. We can't profit from someone else's
fame (or help our clients do it).

did I leave anything out?

[ZStriefel]

ignore the "%u2022" that = bullets from my notes.

[Mich]

That's one very nice guide you made here. I might even use this in the future. Bookmarked.

[YouriX]

I have a question. How do i give my songs non-commercial CopyRights?

[ZStriefel]

At 8/25/09 01:25 PM, YouriX wrote: I have a question. How do i give my songs non-commercial CopyRights?

what do you mean by "non-commercial" ?

[SymbolCymbal]

you should send this to TMM43 so he can thro it in his magical newspost of helpfull and insightfull links

[ZStriefel]

will do :)

[TMM43]

At 8/25/09 01:30 PM, ZStriefel wrote: will do :)

Great stuff man. :D
Added to the list under Audio Portal Rules.

[boney-man]

At 8/25/09 01:25 PM, YouriX wrote: I have a question. How do i give my songs non-commercial CopyRights?

#1: Yeah, what do you mean "non-commercial"? It's either copyrighted or it isn't.

#2: Any time you finish an original work and "fix it in a tangible form" you are automatically the copyright holder for that work. Registering copyrights just makes it more official, and is physical proof that you own the copyright.

[Mich]

At 8/25/09 01:36 PM, TMM43 wrote:

At 8/25/09 01:30 PM, ZStriefel wrote: will do :)

Great stuff man. :D
Added to the list under Audio Portal Rules.

I wouldn't really add it there, as this is more of a 'real life' rule help thingy.. (in my opinion)
But you probably know better where everything needs to be :)

[TMM43]

At 8/25/09 01:41 PM, MICHhimself wrote:
I wouldn't really add it there, as this is more of a 'real life' rule help thingy.. (in my opinion)

I suppose, but I did put FDA's Copyright Thread in that section as well. Thanks for the input though.

I think I'm gonna have to organize this list a tad more.

[PeterSatera]

You missed out one of the most important notes. Even if you aren't making money from it, you still are breaking the law. Alot of people get that wrong, and believe otherwise.

[DarkAlfa]

At 8/25/09 03:30 PM, PeterSatera wrote: You missed out one of the most important notes. Even if you aren't making money from it, you still are breaking the law. Alot of people get that wrong, and believe otherwise.

That topic is kind of messed up, because I believe it works differenty depending on the countries. Here in Spain, you can release any works of yours anywhere with any copyrighted song AS LONG AS you don't get any kind of profit.

[nathanallenpinard]

8. Once a song has been commercially released, who can then record it?

Anyone - as long as they obtain a Mechanical License.

Mechanical License:

Any artist who wants to record someone else's song for release must get a mechanical license. This license requires the artist to pay mechanical royalties(currently, 1.9 cents per unit sold).

It would seem Spain is a tad different here. In the US I believe mechanical copyright is actually the recording of the piece that was original. So using it in, say a film, would require a mechanical license, which is highly expensive.

The publishing license is the actual song in itself. So recording a cover would cost the publishing license. This is way cheaper, so a lot of movies end up doing it.

Additionally, if you play the original recording, it actually requires both if I recall.

[HaniiPuppy]

Any way you have of proving definitely that you made the song works - and the poor man's copyright does work as long as it's a protected and tracked package. You could also use evidence of your music existing prior to someone else making it from trusted sources (ie the Google Caches, Archive.org, etc.) as very strong evidence.

At least, that's the way it works under Scottish Law. I'd presume that it's the same in America, since it's only common sense - I'd be extremely surprised if the only way to copyright your work was to register it with the government for a $45 fee. (Imagine coming back from holiday and having to pay $45 to the government for every photo you took before you upload it to flickr/bebo/whatever)

[Khuskan]

4. Is the "poor man's copyright" (mailing it to yourself) a valid way to protect

your music? NO! You should register it with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Anything you create and put your name to online is covered by copyright. Anything at all. You don't need to declare it copyrighted (though it's a pretty good idea, and you don't have to pay for the privilege). Mailing it to yourself is a way to prove ownership and is a totally viable way of proving copyright - but unless you get ripped off by a high-profile company, you won't need it anyway.

Copyright claims are civil cases, it is up to the defendant to prove they created the material, not the accuser.

Copyright offices are just a more elaborate way of doing this - the office takes care of the material for you, adds a few extra services like managing flat-rate licenses, handling royalties and also provides holds and maintains your copyright even after you die.

Nobody on NG should even consider shelling out for commercial copyrights on their tracks, firstly because it's a waste of money, secondly because anything you post on NG is automatically covered under the FREE creative commons license, which is a legally recognized free copyright license, so your paid-for copyright wouldn't apply to the work anyway as released on NG.

TL:DR:

Anything you make is yours legally, regardless of whether you register a copyright or not. If somebody uses it outside of your terms of use, plagiarizes it and claims it to be their own or otherwise, you still have the legal rights to stop them.

[ZStriefel]

Copyright offices are just a more elaborate way of doing this - the office takes care of the material for you, adds a few extra services like managing flat-rate licenses, handling royalties and also provides holds and maintains your copyright even after you die.

you own the copyright for life + 70 years, then it goes into public domain.

Nobody on NG should even consider shelling out for commercial copyrights on their tracks, firstly because it's a waste of money, secondly because anything you post on NG is automatically covered under the FREE creative commons license, which is a legally recognized free copyright license, so your paid-for copyright wouldn't apply to the work anyway as released on NG.

not the point, not everyone here wants to show all their work for free.

TL:DR:

Anything you make is yours legally, regardless of whether you register a copyright or not. If somebody uses it outside of your terms of use, plagiarizes it and claims it to be their own or otherwise, you still have the legal rights to stop them.

you have the right to stop them yes, but the point is copyrighting your music is protection. period. thats all. we don't need to get up in arms debating whether or not its a good idea.. cause obviously if you sell music, make music, (especially if you make your living this way) this is good information to be had.

read.

[nathanallenpinard]

Another way to ensure protection is to get the song registered on ASCAP or BMI. This actually might have to be done in conjunction with registering with congress.

[ZStriefel]

Nathan, if you have any more useful info on this could you verify and send me some notes? this should be added on here.

[Khuskan]

At 8/25/09 08:38 PM, ZStriefel wrote: you have the right to stop them yes, but the point is copyrighting your music is protection.

You missed my point completely. You can declare something copyrighted even if you don't register it. The benefits of registering it are entirely perks. If you register a copyright with a copyright office, the office will stick up for you if somebody abuses the copyright. If you don't, you have to stick up for yourself, that is the main difference. It's basically like insurance.

[ZStriefel]

lawl thats kinda the point I was trying to make...sooo...yeah.

Not everyone needs this level of protection, hell most people don't really even care. thats cool, but people who are serious about making music and don't wanna get ripped off and want undeniable proof then registering your songs with the US copyright office is a good idea. Sure theres probably ways of proving that you are the original maker of the song, but theres no denying that if you're gonna make music your living, you probably wanna get some protection.

[ZStriefel]

making an addition..

How do songs make money?

MECHANICAL ROYALTIES ("MECHANICALS")
Royalties required by the Mechanical License. Currently, the rate is 9.1¢ (times the
number of CDs sold) or 1.75¢ per minute, whichever is higher. The minute rate applies
to the length of your recording, not the original song length. The royalty rate increases
approximately .5¢ every two years (2008, 2010, 2012, etc.).

PERFORMANCE ROYALTIES:
Royalties paid when a song is played over the radio or TV or performed live. Some
facts:
A. Performance Royalties are collected and distributed to the songwriter(s) and the
publisher by the Performance Rights Organizations (PRO's) - ASCAP, BMI, SESAC.
B. Performance Royalties (for "Terrestrial" radio) are not paid to labels or artists.
C. Performance Royalties for Webcasts ARE paid to artists and labels (AND
songwriters & publishers).

PERFORMANCE RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS (PRO'S) - ASCAP, BMI, SESAC :
Companies which monitor Radio/TV broadcasts and Live Performances of songs. They
then collect royalties from the broadcasters and the performance venues and distribute
the money to publishers and songwriters (while keeping about 20% for operating
expenses). A published songwriter should join one of these organizations.

[InGenius]

To address the non-profit comment above:

Actually, if you read copyright law and use court precedence over the course of the last 30 years, promotional usage of music (ie. not for profit in any format) can be considered legally neutral and defensible. Simply put, copyright infringement is not criminally litigated, it is civilly litigated, so if no one made money or hampered the original artists ability to make money, then the usage of the music has 0 return in civil terms. So, yes, the non-profit/promotional music usage in copyright law is covered under the fair-use clause of all copyright.

That said, you need to understand that fair-use will NOT protect you if you made money because of the promotion of copywritten music, even if it was not directly off of the music itself, which is why there are some cases where artists have tried to claim fair-use that have been shown to go against that clause. Meaning, don't claim fair-use if you didn't want to pay the mechanical or publishing rights to a track on your ad-revenued website.

Furthermore, playing the role of Devil's Advocate here to my own aside, if the artist uses a sample of a track in a "for promotion only" mix/record, which the artist made absolutely no money from, but someone else makes money from after stealing the track or gaining ad revenue outside of the artist's control, the copyright was not infringed on by the original artist but by the person(s) who made the actual revenue from the source. Again, the law is broken where the money is. So, a site like this one ends up making ad revenue from covers, remixes, remakes, sampled tracks, instrumental mixes, mashups, or any other format including any bit of copywritten music and the site itself is where the lawyers will come sniffing. Because, as someone already mentioned, Publishing Rights and Mechanical Royalties/Rights are two seperate entities, many times owned by seperate individuals, you can end up in litigation because someone chose to remix a copywritten song, such as video game music, movie and tv soundtrack music, etc., which are all copywritten. So, making ad revenue from a "Green Hill Zone 1" or "Megaman Mix2" remix/remake is a violation is Publishing Rights, as much as using a breakbeat like the "Amen" break is a violation of Mechanical Royalties, etc.

http://www.alankorn.com/articles/publish ing_1.html

This gives a breakdown of all the different forms of Royalty/Rights, from Sync Rights for synchronizing music to video, to Public Performance Rights. You can see that copyright law is more than just Mechanicals, which most of the discussions in this forum have addressed before. In fact, alot of artists still fail to realize that at least a small percentage of this site breaks copyright law with every ad clik-thru. But the artists are really only going to be held ultimately responsible if they accept ad-revenue in the new ad-sharing plan. Otherwise, when NG becomes big enough and the lawyers do come knocking, it will be the administration that ends up in court for accepting ad revenue from remakes, remixes, and other sources. Remakes and Remixes are easier to prosecute because you don't need to do digital or audio processing to prove a tiny sample is from a song. They will go after those first.