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Another kind of copyright that will hold up in court is the old mail to yourself copyright. The reason?
    You record your song and make a sheet of the melody and lyrics

    You seal it in box, take it to a notary public and have it sealed

    You mail it to yourself

    When you recieve the box you take it to the bank and put it in a safety deposit box
Now you have a sealed container with your song on tape, the melody and lyrics in writing, all sealed in a box by a notary public, mailed with date stamped on the box and secured in a safe deposit box where the bank has a record of entry. In a court of law this will hold up. Probably better to get it done through a copyright office tho'. Probably simpler. But, in dealing with a government agency, you never know who is handling your songs. Might be a relative or sibling to a song writer who wants to steal it. It's happened in the past.


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Too easy to dupe. Boxes can be resealed.
You could hold any box for a period of time and then have anything you wanted come out of it.

Use a regular copyright office for safest protection.

I wonder about the digital encryption copyright offered thru Pasher's motogator site.
They claim it is approved by US Copyright office (approved for what?) and it is only $50 one time fee to copyright as many songs as you want in your lifetime.
They simply encrypt an mp3 with a date and ownership code and send it back to you.

WHOOPS! Seems like thay have disappeared! Guess it wasn't such a great idea.
They did reregister the domain name recently though ... maybe they are changing servers. I'll keep an eye on it.


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Quote:

Recently there was a song by Kid Rock called "All Summer Long", which used the riffs from "Werewolves of London" and "Sweet Home Alabama". Does copyright cover riffs too?




Yeah, big talent that Kid Rock. Can't even make up an original song.


Like the man said, "ain't that a kick in the head!"
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I think in the near future there will no longer be any money made by publishing songs. In the internet age it will simply not be enforceable.

The only money to be made off music will be playing live.


Like the man said, "ain't that a kick in the head!"
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Sorta reminds you about the fall of Rome and the beginnings of the "Dark Ages"
You can get software, music or a liver transplant in China, "We don't need no stinken copyright", just take what you want.
There's a song somewhere in all of this, maybe.
The Hopi Indians are supposed to have a legend that at the end of time, there would be a giant spider that wraps the world in a web..................., We may already be on it,
Wyndham

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Quote:

I think in the near future there will no longer be any money made by publishing songs. In the internet age it will simply not be enforceable.

The only money to be made off music will be playing live.



Not if ASCAP has anything to say about it. Look at some of their "experimental agreements" here:
ASCAP Internet Agreements

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Quote:

Another kind of copyright that will hold up in court is the old mail to yourself copyright. ...




That old wive's tale is just not true in the United States, Russ.

If you try to go to court with your sealed envelope, no attorney worth their salt would even let you get that far.

It is not a good plan at all.


--Mac

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However, it is definitely recognised in the UK and you don't even need a notary, merely send it to yourself by registered post...


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Quote:

.

Thanks for clearing this up Harvey. It seems simple, bet gets complicated real fast.

As a schoolteacher, I get something called "fair use," which I am told allows me to use copyrighted material in the classroom. So then what if I show a DVD movie in class and then view it again at home? Am I in violation the second time? What's the difference?

Here's another one: I bought my favorite album, years ago, on vinyl. Now vinyl is obsolete. Since I own the music that I bought, I should be able to copy my friends CD of the album.

Yes, I know. The answers to these situations are pretty obvious. I'm just saying its not so simple in the real world.

.




You'll find that there is a copyright on both the song and the recording of the song. So, while you purchased a legal vinyl copy, you only purchased that - and not a copy of the CD material which is a separate sound recording.

Here's what I suggest everyone do - it doesn't cost much and it's worth the effort to learn about it:

Write your own original song and make a recording of it. Then go through the official process (it's quite easy now in the US) to obtain copyright for the song itself as well as the recording. It's not all that complicated. Here's the place to do it for the US:

http://www.copyright.gov/

It's been awhile since I obtained copyright on some of my songs - but it was 2 forms (I registered the songs and the recording) - don't remember the form names.

Now, it can be done electronically through file submission - easy peasy.

-Scott

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Quote:

.

Thanks for clearing this up Harvey. It seems simple, bet gets complicated real fast.

As a schoolteacher, I get something called "fair use," which I am told allows me to use copyrighted material in the classroom. So then what if I show a DVD movie in class and then view it again at home? Am I in violation the second time? What's the difference?

Here's another one: I bought my favorite album, years ago, on vinyl. Now vinyl is obsolete. Since I own the music that I bought, I should be able to copy my friends CD of the album.

Yes, I know. The answers to these situations are pretty obvious. I'm just saying its not so simple in the real world.

.




For your own purposes, FF, I believe you are allowed to make a backup. So, get hold of a digital record player and connect it to PTPA or RB and make your own recording of it FOR YOUR OWN PRIVATE PURPOSES.


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That is quite a bit different than copying a buddies CD ...
just sayin'

In the old days we recorded the radio and assumed it was OK.
Then we recorded each others albums to cassette and assumed it was OK
Then copying CD's was assumed to be OK
Then copying DVDs was assumed to be OK

It wasn't

Making a backup of something you own is much different than copying something a buddy owns (legally speaking)
Owning an old scratched up Led Zeppelin album and feeling entitled to the new mastered CD is a pretty big leap.


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If you are in the US, that link rharv gave to the US Copyright webpage also has a dynamite FAQ in there that should answer all of these questions and more.

At least find out the differences and what a mechanical copyright means.


--Mac

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Quote:

Quote:

I think in the near future there will no longer be any money made by publishing songs. In the internet age it will simply not be enforceable.

The only money to be made off music will be playing live.



Not if ASCAP has anything to say about it. Look at some of their "experimental agreements" here:
ASCAP Internet Agreements




Pretty scary Harv. I believe ASCAP would rope off air and charge you to breath it if they could.

In my earlier post, I didn't mean I was in favor of things going that way. I just think they will.

Imagine, a time in the future, when to hear music, you have to GO somewhere and see real people play!


Like the man said, "ain't that a kick in the head!"
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