The Music Copyright Law of Today's Industry

Authorized by the U.S. Constitution, the government is granted sole power to provide authors and inventors exclusive rights to their respective lyrics, music, and discoveries. Specifically, music copyright laws are generated to protect an authors' music composition for an undisclosed amount of years. It is the responsibility of the copyright holder to renew such copyright as it only holds for a specific period of time.

An authors' music composition or "intellectual property" should be registered with the copyright office; which authorizes legal claim to the composition. The music copyright laws ensure public notification of copyright. This would suggest that any use of "intellectual property" without the owner's permission is subject to legal repercussions. As a copyright holder, however, you have the option to sell or transfer the composition, yet the original copyright still remains. The law prohibits any distribution of the lyrics or music either for free, for non- profit, or for profit. Furthermore, the law prohibits another party to play a recording of music in public- even if you are the owner of the CD. Finally, it is against the law to make a derivative arrangement or work for use in any public forum. Bottom line, the law states that the music or lyrics cannot be reproduced, be performed publicly, or rearranged by any other party without written consent of the copyright holder. In such cases, the borrower will pay royalties.

It is fairly simple to copyright your compositions. Actually, music copyright laws allow you to copyright single songs or an entire CD of collected works. The process and cost are the same. All you need to do is submit a completed FormSR to the Library of Congress. This form is available at the U.S Copyright Office. Each song on your CD is protected when you send the FormSR, two (2) copies of the CD (or CD single) along with $45 to the Library of Congress. On the FormSR, it is imperative that you claim copyright to both sound recording as well as the underlying composition.

Registering the FormSR with the U.S. copyright office automatically grants you exclusive rights. According to the music copyright laws, copyright registration grants the owner the right to make copies and duplicate the CD. You will also have the right to distribute your works and prepare alternate versions or new arrangements of your works. Copyright registration gives you the right to perform the songs as well as display the product publicly. Most importantly, not only can you prove the composition is yours if it is stolen, you can sue for damages.

As previously mentioned, copyrights eventually expire; therefore it is the copyright holders' responsibility to renew the copyright. There are documented instances where copyright holders have passed away and their families failed to renew the copyright. The copyright laws mandate, however, that the music is protected for 70 years following the death of an author- granted that the music was created after 1978. In the case of public domain music, the music copyright laws state that the "intellectual property" can fall in the hands of public domain if the copyright is not reinstated. A composition that was copyrighted prior to 1923 is currently a part of public domain. Regardless, proof must be obtained from a legitimate source that a composition is public domain. After proof of public domain is obtained, one can arrange, reproduce, perform, record, or publish the music composition.