This article is an excerpt from the audiobook,
The Musician's Guide Through the Legal Jungle:
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About Music Law



Registration is not Required For a Valid Copyright
First, understand that you don't need to register your copyright with the United States Copyright Office in order to have a valid copyright. You have a valid copyright as soon as your song or sound recording is "fixed in a tangible medium of expression". This is a term used by the Copyright Act and means that your song or sound recording must be written down or recorded. For a discussion of the rights held by the copyright owner of a song or sound recording, see the article, What Exactly is a Music Copyright?

Although registration with the Copyright Office is not required to have a valid copyright, registration does provide several benefits:

• the establishment of a public record and evidence of your claim as the valid copyright owner of your songs and sound recordings
• the ability to file a federal lawsuit against someone who uses your song or sound recording without your permission
• eligibility to receive statutory damages and attorneys' fees in the event you file and win a copyright infringement lawsuit

The Registration Process
Registering your copyright is fairly straightforward. To register your copyright, you must send three items in the same package to the Copyright Office:

1. a completed application,
2. A deposit of your song or sound recording, and
3. the filing fee which is currently $45.

The Application Form
Copyrights in sound recordings are always registered on Copyright Form SR. Copyrights in songs are usually filed on Copyright Form PA. However, if you are the copyright owner of both the song and the sound recording of that song, you can use Copyright Form SR to register both elements together. By registering the song and sound recording together, you will pay one filing fee instead of two. Another way to avoid multiple filing fees is to register several of your unpublished songs or sound recordings as a collection on one Form PA or Form SR.

The Copyright Office will give you free applications along with detailed instructions for completing them. You can get the forms from the Copyright Office's internet site. You can also request the forms by calling the Copyright Office's forms and publication hotline at 202-707-9100, or by writing to the Copyright Office at the following address:

The Deposit of Your Song or Sound Recording
Your deposit consists of samples of your song or sound recording. The deposit requirement is usually one copy for unpublished works and two copies for published works. A sound recording should be deposited on a phonorecord (such as a cassette tape, CD, LP, or disk as well as other formats). A song can be deposited either in notation form on lead sheet or sheet music, or in the form of a phonorecord.

For Additional Information
The Copyright Office publishes several information circulars about copyrights in songs and sound recordings. You can get the information circulars by calling the forms and publication hotline at 202-707-9100, or through the Copyright Office's internet site. Here are some of the information circulars that may be most helpful to musicians:

• Circular 50, Copyright Registration of Musical Compositions
• Circular 56, Copyright Registration of Sound Recordings
• Circular 56a, Distinction Between Copyright Registration of Musical Compositions and Sound Recordings

In addition, the Copyright Office's information specialists are available at 202-707-5959 on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST to respond to basic questions concerning copyright registration. Recorded information is available 24 hours per day at 202-707-9100.

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Joy R. Butler is an entertainment, intellectual property and business attorney. (View Joy Butler's full bio.).


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