Multiple Copyright Questions.....

C

cwrite

New member
First off is this site legit to register your works???
http://myfreecopyright.com/terms_of_service

I was reading info at the US official site and I had a couple questions:

1. It's $45 to register a work but Ive heard that you can register multiple songs (entire album) as 1 as well???

2. Also, if there's multiple people on a song the form ask for all names and adresses...some of my groups emcees dnt have permanent adresses....could they use my PO Box? And couldn't you get you Diddy on and copyright the joint for yourself (cause at this point its easier it might be easier that way and the group wouldnt care who own the copyright at this point)

3. Also, should I only copyright songs weve recorded to on synth beats and not samples??? Or do we copyright anywayz and only get f'd with when we start to make money off a song...or can we just copyright the lyrics and not the beat?

And a final question.....does anyone successfully have albums for sale on sites like cdbaby.com, itunes, etc that use samples in their beats that arent cleared? Just wondering?

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies...Im really trying to take my music to that next legal offical step and the copyrights been a lil confusing....Got the group name trademarked though....chyea:D
 
1. Yes, you can register multiple songs with one registration, it's called a collective work. The registration extends to each individual work. However, anticipating your next question, you can only do that if the creator is the same for each work. So if you're going to do it where artist x did lyrics for song 1 and artist y did lyrics for song 2, you couldn't do that.

2. Depends. Going back to number 1, it would be easier and cheaper to have all the copyrights in your name. If you aren't the creator, you need to get that sort of thing in writing though. Wouldn't hurt to talk to a lawyer about the details of your specific situation.

3. Technically, you can register a copyright that uses preexisting material; the registration doesn't give you ownership over the sample itself, but it does protect everything else you've done, including arrangement of the sample. Technically also, it's infringement to register a copyright that uses a sample without the authorization of the original owner, though the copyright office generally doesn't check up on that sort of thing. Registration or no, you're still open to liability for infringement if you use someone else's work without their permission. As a practical matter, I couldn't say whether you'd get sued or not.
 
good info...

so, say for example, you are rapping on some HeatMakerz beats for your mixtape; but you want to copyright your lyrics only...

do you just send the copyright office your acapellas and file with the SR forms?
 
This maybe going off topic, but at what point is a sample recognizable. If you flip it to the point where no one can tell where the sample came from, will the gov still check up on that?
 
kesslavada said:
This maybe going off topic, but at what point is a sample recognizable. If you flip it to the point where no one can tell where the sample came from, will the gov still check up on that?
Click to expand...

The government doesn't do any checking for copyright infringement (except for large-scale willful infringing - very rare). Most copyright infringement is civil, meaning the owner of the copyright is the one policing his or her work and suing if they feel someone is infringing their work.
 
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