Really simple questions..
- December 12, 2007 @ 3:53amLOTYBOY says:I have band we just recorded a CD its in print right now.
I know in order to copyright the music I must send a copy of the cd to the u.s. copyright office with the appropriate forms and fees. My question is if the CD contains a booklet with lyrics and artwork is that also copywritten? Or do I have to do that separately? Also my bands name is trademarked can I copyright the CD with the Bands name as the copyright holder? Or does it have to be an actual person? The reason I ask is because I want all four bands members to have equal control just in case something were to happen to any one of us.
Can multiple band members own the same copyright? - December 12, 2007 @ 12:53pmJanetCroft says:The place you might want to try for answers to these questions is http://www.mpa.org/copyright_resource_center/, the Music Publisher's Association. The FAQS in their copyright resource center look particularly helpful.
Technically your music is copyrighted as soon as it's "fixed in a tangible form" -- written out or recorded would both count. Since this is a work of joint authorship, it should be copyrighted for 70 years past the death of the longest-lived partner. Your liner notes are also copyright as soon as put on paper. But in your line of business, you may feel you need the extra protection of registering your copyright. Since it's a multiple-authored work, this might also make registration a good idea.
Another thing you might want to look into is the Creative Commons suite of licenses. If you are interested in making your music more accessible (life + 70 ties it up for a long time!!), they may have something in their license suite that you'd like, and they do have licenses especially for music. They're free and very simple to use -- I just licensed a work of my own through CC.
You may also find it useful, if this is your first time doing this, to talk to a lawyer specializing in entertainment law. - December 17, 2007 @ 12:51pmMollyKleinman says:Just to add some emphasis - yes it is possible for multiple people to own the same copyright. In cases of joint works, all contributors are automatically considered joint copyright holders. All copyright holders have an equal share in the copyright, and no single one is allowed to sign away exclusive rights to the work without the consent of all the other copyright holders.
In the case of your band, all the members would hold an equal share of the copyright in the CD, and in any other recordings, liner notes, etc that you create together. - February 24, 2008 @ 2:37pmedgewood says:I am a media specialist at a special needs school-all handicapped students-mentally handicapped, autistic and developmentally delayed. A staff member wants to adapt books like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? as an electronic book- such as using the microsoft program: powerpoint to adapt and simplify the book. Then, the adapted pages of the book will be printed out and placed in a 3 ring binder. Can pictures and sentences from the original book be copied and used in this adapted book? Some of the staff have been to regional and state workshops, and this seems to be the thing to do. Well, we want to adhere to copyright guidelines and do what is legal correct for us. We have researched the Chafee Amendment and if we adhere to the following guidelines, will we be legal? Guidelines:Published books can be adapted to be accessible for individual children with special needs as long as the adaptations are not reproduced or distributed separately from the original version.
o Published book must accompany electronic version of book.
o Electronic version is only to be used in our school site - March 8, 2008 @ 4:00amLalith.Basu says:How does one copyright text that one has on ones blog ?
- March 10, 2008 @ 12:00pmJanetCroft says:It's copyrighted as soon as it's fixed in a tangible form -- and electrons count. You don't have to do anything -- it's automatic.
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