Copyright Information
Many musicians are under the assumption that they must register their copyright with the Library of Congress in order to protect their creative works. Although this practice is highly recommended, it's not absolutely necessary!
Registering your copyright is just an added safeguard to protect your "original works" from any "would-be song sharks."
Technically, as soon as you write or record a song, it's automatically protected by copyright! This means that once you create an original work, you own the exclusive rights to it!
Your "original works" must be written, recorded, or in some 'tangible' (physical) form to be protected by copyright. This simply means that you cannot have a copyright on a song that hasn't yet been "physically" written down on paper or recorded in some way.
The duration of a copyright is seventy years after the death of the author! Once the copyright is no longer protected by law, the "original work" then becomes "public domain," meaning anyone can use this work without being penalized in any way.
To get the proper forms to copyright songs, contact the Copyright Office at:
Library of Congress
U.S. Copyright Office
101 Independence Ave. S.E.
Washington, DC 20559-6000
(202) 707-3000
You can also download copyright forms and instructions to copyright songs at the address below:
www.loc.gov/copyright
Or try our friends at www.clickandcopyright.com you can do it all right now.
