Copywrite Tips

Copyright is for your protection. But the law can only protect if you can prove that you are, in fact, the author of a work. Furthermore, you will need some proof of when you created the work (or first put it out for public consumption). So, how do you go about gaining protection? The very first thing to do is to add the copyright notice to your creation. On a band score, it would be at the bottom of the first page of music. Also, add it to the bottom of each instrument part as well.

But simply adding the copyright notice doesn't prove anything. That's why the Library of Congress came up with a way to register your composition. By submitting the proper forms (and paying $35) you can register your creation with the Library of Congress. Again, this does not prove anything other that on a certain date you submitted said work to the Library of Congress.

Some people also mail their work to themselves and then keep it in the unopened envelope. And, yes you guessed it, this proves nothing other than on that date you had that piece of music in your hand and mailed it to yourself.

So what¹s the use? Well, if push comes to shove and you think that someone is using your creation and calling it their own, you will need to prove that you had the creation before the alleged thief. Any way you can prove that is a help. For instance, I had many people with whom I worked and played who knew I was creating a recorder book. They used parts of it at times and saw most of the process. I could use some of those people in a court of law to verify that on a certain date I had possession of that material.

The bottom line is: you are responsible for proving that you created your masterpiece.