subject: Register Your Music Or Copyright It? [print this page] Did you know that there is a difference between copyrighting your music and to register music? According to United States law, once you have written or recorded your music in a permanent form, it is automatically copyrighted. However, just because you record or write down music does not mean that it is registered. In order for you to understand the difference between these two, you need to understand what the definitions of copyright and register music are.
A copyright is a certain legal protection for the original creators and owners of creative works. This can include music, written words or art, for example. Our constitution states that there are limits that a person can place on the amount of time that the work is protected, though. After a certain number of years, the original creators rights to that work are no longer valid, and the work becomes public domain. This is usually something like the life of the original creator plus 70 more years, so it is a relatively long time.
When you copyright music, you and only have the right to use it and to give permission for other people to use it. You can also have the right to distribute copies of it and give others permission to distribute it. The Fair Use Doctrine states that anyone can use your recorded music or written music for the purpose of reporting, commentary, research or criticism. Most people do not know that there are times when the use of copyrighted materials is appropriate without the consent of the original person who registered the music.
Basically, the main idea is that copyrighting alone is not enough to protect your music completely, you have to also register music. One of the things you can do is to provide notice of copyright. All you have to do is to include the word Copyright, the date and your name at the bottom of your sheet music, on the exterior of your CD, labels and cases, and you can also include that information on the actual recording itself. This lets people know that the work is already claimed by you as yours.
So what then does it mean to register music as opposed to the copyright? You have to register your copyrighted music in order for it to be legally recognized and recorded. It is always a good idea to register music not only during the creation process, but you need to do it as soon as possible so that rights to it does not become an issue.
