COPYRIGHTS
- Thread starter phil
- Start date
yuo have a COPYRIGHT as soon as you have the work in a fixed form (tape,cd,dat etc etc etc). cataloging each song seperately will allow it to receive its own NUMBER. what you are doing is REGISTERING.
www.loc.gov/copyright
202-707-3000
:H:
www.loc.gov/copyright
202-707-3000
:H:
It's statutory damages. And if Phil is goin' to be sending his beats out to people I would register them. If he's not planning on publishing them......he should just keep them on lock down. It all depends on what he plans on doing with them?
By the way Heresy......I took Multimedia Copyright & Trademark Law in college. If you're going to be putting yourself out there like that......then of course you must protect yourself. But if you're not......you might as well save the $30 bucks. Unless you think somebody is gonna jack you??? Anything is possible I guess. I see your point......better safe than sorry?
What I would do is this.......put like 1 minute snippets of the full beat on there......shit you don't even have to do that......30 seconds. That way you can squeeze as many as possible on there and send it off.
1. Registration establishes a public record of your copyright claim.
2. Registration is necessary before you can file an infringement suit.
3. You have to register within 3 months of publication to be eligible to full protection.......or within 5 years of publication to establish validity of ownership.
4. If you don't register within 3 months of publication.....you waive your right to statutory damages and attorney fees. After that (within 5 years).....all you're entitled to is ACTUAL damages.
Any other questions? lol
By the way Heresy......I took Multimedia Copyright & Trademark Law in college. If you're going to be putting yourself out there like that......then of course you must protect yourself. But if you're not......you might as well save the $30 bucks. Unless you think somebody is gonna jack you??? Anything is possible I guess. I see your point......better safe than sorry?
What I would do is this.......put like 1 minute snippets of the full beat on there......shit you don't even have to do that......30 seconds. That way you can squeeze as many as possible on there and send it off.
1. Registration establishes a public record of your copyright claim.
2. Registration is necessary before you can file an infringement suit.
3. You have to register within 3 months of publication to be eligible to full protection.......or within 5 years of publication to establish validity of ownership.
4. If you don't register within 3 months of publication.....you waive your right to statutory damages and attorney fees. After that (within 5 years).....all you're entitled to is ACTUAL damages.
Any other questions? lol
what do you mean by this? dont bother copyrighting? and another thing, is copyrighting a prerequisite to publishing or vice versa???
do i have to title each song? or is it just an "umbrella" coverage for whatever is on the cd?
also, im not ready for it yet, but.... i was peeping out bmi, and i noticed they dont charged anything. whats the catch??? are there benefits to using multiple publishing houses, companies, whatever theyre called? or should i stick with one? if so which?
also, i have a chick and some dude that sing and rap. how do i go abouts doing this? how would i go abouts copyrighting their works? do i have to have their permission? or can i just say "i recorded this and my payment was ownership of the finished product"
thanks d and whoever else may be able to add anything
do i have to title each song? or is it just an "umbrella" coverage for whatever is on the cd?
also, im not ready for it yet, but.... i was peeping out bmi, and i noticed they dont charged anything. whats the catch??? are there benefits to using multiple publishing houses, companies, whatever theyre called? or should i stick with one? if so which?
also, i have a chick and some dude that sing and rap. how do i go abouts doing this? how would i go abouts copyrighting their works? do i have to have their permission? or can i just say "i recorded this and my payment was ownership of the finished product"
thanks d and whoever else may be able to add anything
If you're just making your beats and not really doin' shit with them......as far as sending them out to people and making them "publicly available".....who's gonna hear it? If they're just gonna sit around your house collecting dust......why spend the $$$ to register them? That's why I said......it kinda depends on how you plan to use them.
I would title each snippet just for the sake of ID......you could make it simple as Phil's beat #1, Phil's beat #2.....etc. Whatever you want to call them is fine.
As far as I know......the reason BMI doesn't charge anything is because they aren't as involved with their members as ASCAP is. Meaning.....ASCAP holds conventions and workshops.....shit like that. They are more involved with their members and use the $ they get from membership dues to help pay for those activities. If you're lookin' for meetings and shit like that to go to......join ASCAP......if you don't care join BMI. I have posed the question to several people and nobody can really give me a good reason why one is better than the other. Also......as far as I know.....you can't be affiliated with more than one performing rights organization....so you'll need to choose 1. You should hit up either one of their websites for more info on publishing.......it can be a very complicated subject.
Now......about your "dude & chick" who you work with. It depends on the business relationship. If you are more or less "hiring" (even if there is no compensation involved....aka payment) them to do shit for you......then whatever they do for you would be considered a "work for hire." And in that scenario.....you would own the copyrights.....the publishing would be per agreement. If you're just recording them.....and they are basically hiring YOU to be their producer or engineer......you have no rights to anything they do. Unless you contributed to the song......as in you made the beat or added some elements to it......or you wrote or co-wrote some of the vocals......then you all would share copyrights and publishing.
Now......if your "payment" was ownership of the composition....you best be gettin' that on paper......because those rights need to be assigned to you from them.
I would title each snippet just for the sake of ID......you could make it simple as Phil's beat #1, Phil's beat #2.....etc. Whatever you want to call them is fine.
As far as I know......the reason BMI doesn't charge anything is because they aren't as involved with their members as ASCAP is. Meaning.....ASCAP holds conventions and workshops.....shit like that. They are more involved with their members and use the $ they get from membership dues to help pay for those activities. If you're lookin' for meetings and shit like that to go to......join ASCAP......if you don't care join BMI. I have posed the question to several people and nobody can really give me a good reason why one is better than the other. Also......as far as I know.....you can't be affiliated with more than one performing rights organization....so you'll need to choose 1. You should hit up either one of their websites for more info on publishing.......it can be a very complicated subject.
Now......about your "dude & chick" who you work with. It depends on the business relationship. If you are more or less "hiring" (even if there is no compensation involved....aka payment) them to do shit for you......then whatever they do for you would be considered a "work for hire." And in that scenario.....you would own the copyrights.....the publishing would be per agreement. If you're just recording them.....and they are basically hiring YOU to be their producer or engineer......you have no rights to anything they do. Unless you contributed to the song......as in you made the beat or added some elements to it......or you wrote or co-wrote some of the vocals......then you all would share copyrights and publishing.
Now......if your "payment" was ownership of the composition....you best be gettin' that on paper......because those rights need to be assigned to you from them.
2 CENTS
Phil
If your serious about the music business, take it from me and go to a community college. Take all the courses that will help you build your knowledge on the subject. They cover just all the questions you need to know: ie. Intellectual Property Law, Copyright Forms, Management Agreements, Licensing Procedures, and a lot more.
Out here (Fullerton CC, and probably many other) offer you a grip of music courses for a cheap ass price. And if you can't afford college, sign up for a financial aide program. They'll cover everything for you.
If you don't wanna go through all that shit, go to your nearest library.
peace
Phil
If your serious about the music business, take it from me and go to a community college. Take all the courses that will help you build your knowledge on the subject. They cover just all the questions you need to know: ie. Intellectual Property Law, Copyright Forms, Management Agreements, Licensing Procedures, and a lot more.
Out here (Fullerton CC, and probably many other) offer you a grip of music courses for a cheap ass price. And if you can't afford college, sign up for a financial aide program. They'll cover everything for you.
If you don't wanna go through all that shit, go to your nearest library.
peace