Diary Of An Indie Artist - An introduction to Copyrights (Episode 9)

Hey indies! I know it's been a while, but I gotta be honest, this subject that I'm gonna touch today is one of the most intricate ones. People don't give enough credit to copyrights, with the internet piracy, creative commons, the whole discussion about the SOPA, PIPA, etc. we are starting to realize that it is important to have your music copyrighted (even when I don't agree with the bill). At the same time, there are things that are true in these subject and there are complete myths that are hard to break. The other day I was in a "Copyrights, Patents & Trademarks" class and even here, all the way in Spain, I heard the myth again: "The Poorman's Copyright". You know, that story about sending yourself a copy of the music & not opening it and blahblahblah... just so you just know, that DOES NOT hold any protection in the eyes of the law, so if you do that, somebody steals your music & you think you're protected because you did that, YOU ARE WRONG! Alright? So tattoo this in your forehead if needed: COPYRIGHT OWNER CANNOT SUE FOR INFRINGEMENT UNLESS HE HAS REGISTERED THE WORK. With that said, you better pay attention to this video! :) The basics: There are 2 types of copyrights (when talking about music): - Sound Recording (SR): The actual recording. Also called "masters". Normally Record Labels/Artists own this copyright. If you own everything (composition, lyrics, production, etc.) you can also copyright it all in the "Sound Recording" session. - Work Of Performing Arts ...

View Count: 20 Date: January 27, 2012