Copyright Statement on back of CD

Groover · #1 06-11-2008, 06:47 AM

We're getting some art work done on a CD we plan on getting reproduced, and I'm wondering of anyone knows of a good Copyright Statement to put on the footer of the CD.

I can't seem to find anything online in this regards....

Any suggestions?

Scionreality · #2 06-11-2008, 07:50 AM

How about "Copyright 2008"?

I'd suggest looking up the US Copyright Office, it's actually not to bad to navigate.

Also, look at other CDs.

Dirk Diggler · #3 06-11-2008, 08:29 AM

The proper format would be:
symbol (©) alt +0169
year (2008)
rights organization (ASCAP)
group name (Your Band Name)

©2008 ASCAP Your Band Name

Send to copies and the fee to the library of congress, and get setup with a rights group like ASCAP or BMI. They have all that info too.

Good luck,
Dirk

CapnSev · #4 06-11-2008, 08:32 AM

ASCAP is really easy to work with, they will gladly answer all your questions. I've e-mailed them on a lot of occasions and they always get back to me fast.

mdiddium · #5 06-11-2008, 01:50 PM

Yes it's important to note that registering the copyright with the Library of Congress is the most important step (www.loc.gov). The notice on the physical CD doesn't mean anything if you are not registered. In fact, you don't have to put it on at all, it just tells others that the material on the disc is under copyright (but you can't pursue any legal action on copyright infringement unless you register!). Good luck.

Spinal Tapper · #6 06-11-2008, 03:02 PM

ASCAP!

dj150888 · #7 06-12-2008, 10:49 AM

As has already been said, putting copyright notices on your CD is no good unless you've actually copyrighted them.

I'd also reccommend getting publishing rights on them.

QORC · #8 06-12-2008, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Groover

We're getting some art work done on a CD we plan on getting reproduced, and I'm wondering of anyone knows of a good Copyright Statement to put on the footer of the CD.

I can't seem to find anything online in this regards....

Any suggestions?

read

www.whatiscopyright.org

Rick Auricchio · #9 06-15-2008, 04:59 PM

And copyright protection just allows you to sue. If you're not prepared to lawyer-up in court to sue an infringer, it can be a waste of time. Of course, for original music, it may be worthwhile someday, assuming a label picks it up.

But the OP is talking about artwork, not music.

Top_Ten · #10 06-17-2008, 03:08 PM

There is some misinformation on here about copyright law, so here is the real scoop:

1. Under US law, copyright exists in a work (e.g., a musical composition, sound recording, album artwork, etc.) from the moment it is created and put into tangible form. Registration with the Copyright Office is not necessary. However, registration does help you protect your rights, and is a necessary prerequisite to suing for infringement in federal court. It is pretty easy and cheap (the filing fee is, I believe, only $35). Forms and step-by-step instructions are available at the Copyright Office website.

2. You can (and should) put a copyright notice on your CDs, website, etc. regardless of whether you have registered the work. The proper form of notice for most types of works (artwork, etc.) is © [year of publication] [name of copyright owner]. The proper form of notice for sound recordings, for various arcane reasons that do not bear going into here, is (p) [year of publication] [name of copyright owner]. If you want to put a notice on your CD that covers both the artwork and the sound recording (and you own the copyright in both), you can use © & (p) [year of publication] [name of copyright owner]. (By the way, that (p) is supposed to be a P in a circle, but I can't figure out how to type that symbol in this comment box.)

3. Setting up a publishing company and licensing your songs through BMI or ASCAP may also be a good thing to do, but it is a completely separate issue from copyright notice, which is what the OP asked about.