LuIzA Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 So as some may have heard, I'm planning on releasing a CD. I'm looking into releasing it both digitally and physically via CD Baby. they offer UPC code generation for another $20, so I'm wondering, how important is a UPC code, given I'm only releasing it physically through CD baby and myself? I also was looking into copyrighting at copyright.gov. Has any one here ever done that? Do you register it as Performing Arts or Sound Recording? What's the real difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie's Angel Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 It's copyrighted to you the second you create it, last I heard. It might be different elsewhere in the world, but I'm pretty sure thats how it works here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarretGraves Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 It may be more complicated than that. I thought you had to go through some paperwork or something that costs money to scopyright it. I also would like to know how this process is done. I would also like to purchase the CD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie's Angel Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Well it depends on the country. Trademarking it takes paperwork I know, but you might need to look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.s._copyright for a better answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuIzA Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 I may have expressed myself wrong,I don't know if copyright is the right for this. What I meant is, in case someone plagiarizes your work, you need something, to prove the composition is yours. is that copyright, or something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nabeel Ansari Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 I may have expressed myself wrong,I don't know if copyright is the right for this.What I meant is, in case someone plagiarizes your work, you need something, to prove the composition is yours. is that copyright, or something else? That's where "infringing on copyright" comes from, so I assume that is the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 So as some may have heard, I'm planning on releasing a CD. I'm looking into releasing it both digitally and physically via CD Baby.they offer UPC code generation for another $20, so I'm wondering, how important is a UPC code, given I'm only releasing it physically through CD baby and myself? I also was looking into copyrighting at copyright.gov. Has any one here ever done that? Do you register it as Performing Arts or Sound Recording? What's the real difference? I am not sure about the copyright laws of Brazil. In the U.S., when you create a work, it is automatically copyrighted under your name. However, if you do not register your work with the government (for us, www.copyright.gov) then PROVING it is yours is more difficult in court, plus it limits how much monetary compensation you can get if someone rips you off. Nonetheless, I believe that if someone is going to rip you off, they won't care whether you are registered or not. It takes time and money to go to court and unless you have a lot of both, you probably won't be able to do anything anyway (but obviously if you make a hit song I would register that ASAP!) As for UPC bar code, you do need one if you plan on distributing through CD Baby. Even though they're just one store, they distribute your music to places like iTunes, Amazon MP3, Napster, etc. and these retailers typically require UPC codes. So, just think of it as an annoying but necessary fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanthos Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Not sure why Andy didn't plug this himself, but read his tutorial on How to distribute and sell a CD on his website too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 On a related note, would someone have to go through a similar process to copyright/claim their artist name? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidd Cabbage Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 On a related note, would someone have to go through a similar process to copyright/claim their artist name? This is not copyrightable. All that you can do for an artist/band name is servicemark it, which is basically way that people won't confuse two different people offering services. The best way to go about doing this is just to get your name out there - start playing shows. If there is a local band in New York and a local band in Boston, both with the name "The Repeaters," there is not a big chance of the two confusing the two, and the legal system won't do anything about it. However, if you're going to name your band Aerosmith and you're from Boston, there is a big chance that someone will go to your show, thinking it's the band Aerosmith, and they can take you to court over it. However, if you named your band Jiffy Lube, you're fine, because nobody is going to mistake a band for an oil change. So basically, there is no way to protect your band name other than proving that someone else of the same name, after you've established your name, is going to be taking revenue from you by confusing the average person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moseph Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 However, if you named your band Jiffy Lube, you're fine, because nobody is going to mistake a band for an oil change. Not necessarily. For example, the band The Postal Service almost got sued by the US Postal Service, but they came to an out of court agreement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoozer Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 http://www.copyrightauthority.com/poor-mans-copyright/ Just wanted to post this before some mook barges in with "lol just mail it to urself". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidd Cabbage Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Not necessarily. For example, the band The Postal Service almost got sued by the US Postal Service, but they came to an out of court agreement. Doesn't mean that the US Postal Service would've won the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moseph Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Doesn't mean that the US Postal Service would've won the case. Granted, but getting sued is expensive and a hassle regardless of whether you ultimately win, and using a name that's already widely recognized as being related to someone besides yourself dramatically increases the chance of lawsuits, justified or unjustified. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuIzA Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 I am not sure about the copyright laws of Brazil. In the U.S., when you create a work, it is automatically copyrighted under your name. However, if you do not register your work with the government (for us, www.copyright.gov) then PROVING it is yours is more difficult in court, plus it limits how much monetary compensation you can get if someone rips you off. Nonetheless, I believe that if someone is going to rip you off, they won't care whether you are registered or not. It takes time and money to go to court and unless you have a lot of both, you probably won't be able to do anything anyway (but obviously if you make a hit song I would register that ASAP!)As for UPC bar code, you do need one if you plan on distributing through CD Baby. Even though they're just one store, they distribute your music to places like iTunes, Amazon MP3, Napster, etc. and these retailers typically require UPC codes. So, just think of it as an annoying but necessary fee. In brazil, one has to write scores to their music and register it with the National Library, but I'm unsure if that's valid worldwide. There are a lot of horror stories about this, the Jorge Ben/Rod Stewart case comes to mind. So What I'm really wondering is, if one is to register with copyright.gov, then does one have to register the score or can one register a sound recording, like the site mentions? How does that go? About CD Baby, supposedly the UPC code fee is apart from their album fee, which since their digital distribution services require it, then why not just make it one fee? Their site is not very clear about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guifrog Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 http://www.musicasregistradas.com/ Not sure, but I suppose this is valid? Not that I ever tried it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuIzA Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 http://www.musicasregistradas.com/Not sure, but I suppose this is valid? Not that I ever tried it. Yes, I've heard of this. It's supposedly valid, but they only take vocal songs and register the lyrics as poems. A lot of my stuff is instrumental, so it does me no good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moseph Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 In brazil, one has to write scores to their music and register it with the National Library, but I'm unsure if that's valid worldwide. There are a lot of horror stories about this, the Jorge Ben/Rod Stewart case comes to mind. So What I'm really wondering is, if one is to register with copyright.gov, then does one have to register the score or can one register a sound recording, like the site mentions? How does that go? I believe the US copyright registration system only requires that the work exist in a fixed form, which means that it can be registered either as a score or as a recording. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nabeel Ansari Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I believe the US copyright registration system only requires that the work exist in a fixed form, which means that it can be registered either as a score or as a recording. LuIza is in Brazil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuIzA Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 I actually was looking into registering in the US as well, so it's valid globally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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