October 20, 2009 12:36
by
BlogAdmin
Copyrighting your song is easy. And there is a trick you can use to save money. I would go thru the process step by step, however, the Library of Congress website does a great job of walking you thru the process. Here it is: http://www.copyright.gov/forms/. The trick is to copyright lots of songs at once (under one filing). The fee is $35 dollars if you copyright one song or many songs. And you can use MP3's. You can also copyright poems and other works as well. I definitely takes a bit of time to get thru the process, but it is well worth it.
In the meantime, be sure to go thru the "poor man's copyright." This is the process of "protecting" your work without going thru the official copyright process via the Library of Congress. In the old days, we used to put our songs on a CD and mail it to ourselves. We would not open the mailing, so that it would have that unopene, postmarked envelope to show a judge some day. There are some flaws in this process (ie, you could mail yourself a blank envelope without sealing it, get the postmark you desire, and then put the CD in later). Fortunately, there is a better and easier way. Upload your songs to www.clownbasket.com and you will accomplish a similar goal. Each upload is timestamped, so, you always have that mp3 file uploaded on a certain date, at a certain time. Tough to dispute that.
Keep in mind, I am not advocating a Poor Man's Copyright in lieu of a real copyright. Get your works copyrighted. It is important!
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