I just submitted a copyright request for a bass composition

[Totally Yankee]

I just submitted a copyright request for a bass composition. I did it just for the heck of it.

Has anyone else done this?

Other than getting spam solicitations in the mail, are there any negative consequences?

 

[Bob_Ross]

What do you mean you "submitted a copyright request for a bass composition"? Do you mean you submitted a completed Form PA or Form SR to the US Copyright Office? If so, you won't get any spam, you'll just get an official acknowledgement.

I've done Form SR it for every record/CD I've ever released, and I did Form PA for a piece of chamber music I composed ~20 years ago just so I had an offsite copy of the score archived.

 

[Totally Yankee]

I don't recall seeing "Form SR" or "Form PA". I went to https://eco.copyright.gov/ and clicked "Register a New Claim". The entire process took about 15 minutes and cost $35. I've received verification of registration and payment. The hard copy will arrive in the mail in about EIGHT MONTHS.

 

[whatizitman]

Apparently that's the new electronic format - website says it's been available for a year now. The forms are how traditionally the archive office received submissions. I did it years ago for a bulk of songs and song ideas I collected over the years. Haven't since.

And just to be clear, you are not copyrighting. A work is automatically 'copyrighted' to the creator, but the burden of proof is on the creator to prove it. You are registering with the copyright office to support proof of authorship should that be ever be in question. The library of congress does not settle claims - only provide documentation. There aint no guarantees when it comes to copyrights.

 

[the harp unstrung]

I've tried to copywrite two songs. I'd like to think that both are mine...but they don't make it easy.

 

[Ubersheist]

I've tried to copywrite two songs. I'd like to think that both are mine...but they don't make it easy.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know, the instant you record a song, write it down on a napkin at a bar or your mother videos you playing it on an iPhone, it's copyrighted to you. Submission to the copyright office just gives you a paper trail in case you think you'll need it for an infringement case, right? Is this why you guys submit it to the copyright office?

 

[Totally Yankee]

Yeh. The govt just provides a way to time stamp it.