Basic US Copyright Law Q&A and other stuff you really need to know

[AfaraWayland]

Ringtone Decision (Government Case Document)

In sum, and as stated more fully below, we believe that ringtones (including monophonic and polyphonic ringtones, as well as mastertones) qualify as digital phonorecord deliveries (“DPDs”) as defined in 17 U.S.C. § 115.

Apart from meeting the formal requirements of Section 115 (e.g., service of a notice of intention to obtain a compulsory license under Section 115(b)(1), submission of statements of account and royalty payments, etc.), whether a particular ringtone falls within the scope of the statutory license will depend primarily upon whether what is performed is simply the original musical work (or a portion thereof), or a derivative work (i.e., a musical work based on the original musical work but which is recast, transformed, or adapted in such a way that it becomes an original work of authorship and would be entitled to copyright protection as a derivative work).

[AfaraWayland]

Copyright Registration
In general, copyright registration is a legal formality intended to make a public record of the basic facts of a particular copyright. However, registration is not a condition of copyright protection. Even though registration is not a requirement for protection, the copyright law provides several inducements or advantages to encourage copyright owners to make registration. Among these advantages are the following:
• Registration establishes a public record of the copyright claim.
• Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is necessary for works of U.S. origin.
• If made before or within 5 years of publication, registration will establish prima facie evidence in court of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate.
• If registration is made within 3 months after publication of the work or prior to an infringement of the work, statutory damages and attorney's fees will be available to the copyright owner in court actions. Otherwise, only an award of actual damages and profits is available to the copyright owner.
• Registration allows the owner of the copyright to record the registration with the U. S. Customs Service for protection against the importation of infringing copies. For additional information, go to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website at www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import. Click on “Intellectual Property Rights.”
Registration may be made at any time within the life of the copyright. Unlike the law before 1978, when a work has been registered in unpublished form, it is not necessary to make another registration when the work becomes published, although the copyright owner may register the published edition, if desired.

Unpublished Collections
Under the following conditions, a work may be registered in unpublished form as a “collection,” with one application form and one fee:
• The elements of the collection are assembled in an orderly form;
• The combined elements bear a single title identifying the collection as a whole;
• The copyright claimant in all the elements and in the collection as a whole is the same; and
• All the elements are by the same author, or, if they are by different authors, at least one of the authors has contributed copyrightable authorship to each element.
An unpublished collection is not indexed under the individual titles of the contents but under the title of the collection.

Here's some more registration info.

[dach]

Be careful... I have not totally read this thread but some of the info is totally innacurate.

Form SR is used when you are copyrighting an "event" or sound recordings contained on a disc for "mechanical" uses - which is an over simplification but you should get the jist. Form PA and it's continuation for are what you want if you are registering "collections" of music. You will want PA and the continuation form for your uses.

Each form has the provision to copyright either published or unpublished material.

When in doubt, just call them. They are very friendly and will answer your questions.

Another place I recommend is the FMPRO mailing list.

dach

[AfaraWayland]

Originally Posted by dach

Be careful... I have not totally read this thread but some of the info is totally innacurate.

Dach, all of the information I have posted here is accurate, as it comes from the US Gov. website devoted to copyright.

Please be more specific as to the said innaccuracies here.

I submit that having not read the thread, you are incorrect in accusing the information here as innacurate.

Further, I submit that your understanding of copyright is faulty.

Here's my case:

When to Use Form SR (Sound Recordings)

Use Form SR for registration of published or unpublished sound recordings, that is, for registration of the particular sounds or recorded performance.

Form SR must also be used if you wish to make one registration for both the sound recording and the underlying work (the musical composition, dramatic, or literary work). You may make a single registration only if the copyright claimant is the same for both the sound recording and the underlying work. In this case, the authorship statement in Space 2 should specify that the claim covers both works.

Form SR is also the appropriate form for registration of a multimedia kit that combines two or more kinds of authorship including a sound recording (such as a kit containing a book and an audiocassette).

When to Use Form PA (Performing Arts)

For registration purposes, musical compositions and dramatic works that are recorded on disks or cassettes are works of the performing arts and should be registered on Form PA or Short Form PA. Therefore, if you wish to register only the underlying work that is a musical composition or dramatic work, use Form PA even though you may send a disk or cassette.

NOTE: Sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work should not be registered on Form SR. The copyright law does not define these sounds as "sound recordings" but as an integral part of the motion picture or audiovisual work in which they are incorporated. These sounds are classified as works of the performing arts and should be registered on Form PA.

Examples of the Proper Use of Forms PA and SR

Jane Smith composes words and music, which she entitles "Blowing in the Breeze." Even though she records it, she is not interested in registering the particular recording but only in registering the composition itself. If she decides to submit "Blowing in the Breeze" for copyright registration, she should use Form PA.

Emily Tree performs and records Jane Smith's "Blowing in the Breeze" after complying with permissions and license procedures. If Emily decides to submit her recording for copyright registration, she should use Form SR.

The same principles apply to literary and dramatic works. A recorded performance of an actor speaking lines from "Hamlet" could be registered on Form SR as a sound recording. The claimant in the sound recording, of course, has no copyright in the underlying work, "Hamlet."

If you use form SR, ONE FORM, you are able to register BOTH the sound recording and the underlying work. Period.

That said, what you are suggesting, to use a PA form instead of a SR is totally opposite of what is suggested by the Copyright Office.

I fully appreciate the challenge of substantiating anything I say here, and would only ask you to do the same.

I am not a final authority, nor do I claim to be. I encourage each one of you to engage in your own searches to find what is what.

If I am wrong and it is proven, I will gladly correct my error.

After all, we're all here to learn.

[AfaraWayland]

That said, I also appreciate people taking part in the discussion.

Dach brought up a good point.

Which form do I use???

-more to follow...

[dach]

Stuff you've copied from the site I assume is OK. It's just when you try to interpret the meaning is when the problem happens.

The following is NOT good advice. CALL the copyright office for clarification or ask someone who's actually had to fill out more than a couple. Also note the differences between SONG, COLLECTION and MASTER RECORDING.

A key word here is unpublished. As long as your works are unpublished, say an unreleased album or in your case, a giganto unpublished compilation of created/original sounds, one can use one SR form to register an entire collection (under a title) according to the language.

Published works however, in your case, say individual noises or samples that had previously been published outside of a collection would have to be registered by themselves (as far as I know).

A released/published album would need to have been released/published as an album/collection in order to register the album/collection [as a title-containing several works,etc....]

[AfaraWayland]

Dach, I agree with you that anyone who has questions about Copyright should 1, contact a real entertainment lawyer, and 2, call the Copyright office to ask questions.

[AfaraWayland]

I have recently revisted the copyright site and learned that Dach is correct for a few reasons.

Someone in my situation, who writes and records my own material, would be wise to use an SR form to register both the sound recording and the underlying work (song) at one time. Its cheaper that way.

Other situations require other forms.

Example

Artist writes song, Label records song.

In this case it would seem to me that the artist would seek to obtain copyright for the song, and the Label would seek copyright of the sound recording. Since the claimants are not the same, the SR form is not applicable.

A PA form is used for musical compositions and dramatic works (performing arts) captured on disk or cassette. Using a PA form does not copyright the sound recording, but the dramatic work therein.

Here is a helpful chart I found:Chart-scroll down

The chart specifically proves that Dach is correct. It also shows that I am partly correct as well.

---

To all forumm viewers-

I apologize to Dach for arguing with him (above). I appreciate being proven wrong, as it keeps me humble, and helps me learn. I invite all of you to challenge the things I write here.

Again, it is obvious that I am not to be considered as legal council. USE MY INTERPRETATIONS AT YOUR OWN RISK. I have already been shown wrong once, and I probably will be again.

I'll try to stay cool the next time I am called to make account.

Dach, I ask for your forgiveness.

-Andrew

[brandondrury]

Thanks for the update, dude. It shows character when a person is willing to correct themselves (and therefore admit that they weren't 100% right).

Brandon

[jbach11]

i have a question about publishing multiple works as one. I saw in a link that if all songs are cowritten by two people it qulifys. Could it still be registered as a single fee if all music was by one person and all lyrics were by a different person.
for example all music by bob and all lyrics by james