Introduction

Copyright laws identify who should be allowed specific rights governing an original work and what those rights are. Here I will give a short overview of what is necessary to register an original song copyright in the United States of America. My main source of information is the government copyright office. The copyright office maintains a web site, http://www.loc.gov/copyright, from which detailed questions are addressed and forms may be downloaded.

What is a Copyright?

When you author and write down the lyrics to a song and/or the accompanying music that body of work is automatically protected under the federal copyright laws. It is protected for your lifetime plus seventy years. The Copyright Act gives you certain rights:

1. You can reproduce copes of the song in written or recorded form.
2. You can sell copies of your song.
3. You can perform your song.
4. You can create adaptations based upon your song.
5. Only you can license others to use your song in any of the above ways.

Why should a Copyright be registered?

While legally your work is copyrighted as soon as you put it to paper problems arise if somebody else questions your authorship. The most prudent means of securing your rights is to register your copyright with the Copyright Office. Even though there might be other ways to prove authorship, the self-addressed sealed-letter being one, we recommend that songwriters register their songs with the Copyright Office.

How do I register a Copyright?

For a songwriter wishing to register lyrics and/or music follow these steps:

1. Complete From PA (Performing Arts)--in most cases Short Form PA will do.
2. Write a $30.00 check payable to "Register of Copyrights."
3. Prepare a non-returnable copy of the song and/or music.
4. Package the above in one envelope and mail to:

Library of Congress
Copyright Office
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000

The Copyright Office also allows you to register multiple songs with one form and one $30.00 fee if all the songs have a common author. So you can register a volume of work and each piece within the volume will be registered. In this case you will include a non-returnable copy of all the songs with your registration form and fee.

There is another copyright registration you might consider if you plan on performing your work. Form SR (Sound Recordings) is used to register the copyright of a particular version of a song. As an example, if you recorded a live performance of your song you might want to protect that recording. To see more details visit the Copyright Office website.

One Final Word

Once you've copyrighted your first song we recommend that you affiliate yourself with a performing rights society and also consider forming your own music publishing company. The article explaining self-publishing walks you though these processes.