Welcome to the lyricist lounge!

[Keith]

Members asked for it and I decided to create it.

For now, you will have to submit your lyrics to a moderator before it's posted.
Music is one thing.. Lyrics can damage and influence. Like it or not, this is the way I'm doing this for now. PM your lyrics, or contact another moderator for review.

1) Please read the disclaimer sticky before posting. If you do not accept this, do not post.

2)No posting of copywriten material. If you don't own the lyric rights, you don't have the right to post. Plagiarism is against the law. You can be held liable for a lawsuit. IF plagiarism is found, that member may be ejected from the site. So post only your own original lyrics!

3) Copywrite your lyrics before posting them. This is the Internet after all. It's easy to steal someone else's ideas and make money off it. This is for your protection.

[Lazy Bee]

Thanks Keith, this should be a pretty cool hang.

[Black Winter]

How do you copyright things?

[Mr. Boston]

How do you copyright things?

You probably ought to start a separate thread about that. Maybe in Open Mic I don't know.

[texastito]

there's a sticky somewhere with a lot of info from lazy bee. I think in showcase.

[Willie_G]

I don't know if anyone will actually read this but I remembered something from a poetry group I used to belong to: Handwrite your text, put it in an envelope, mail it to yourself and when the letter arrives, file it safely away. The date/time-stamp from the post office on the unopened envelope is acceptable proof of copyright.

[Mr. Boston]

I don't know if anyone will actually read this but I remembered something from a poetry group I used to belong to: Handwrite your text, put it in an envelope, mail it to yourself and when the letter arrives, file it safely away. The date/time-stamp from the post office on the unopened envelope is acceptable proof of copyright.

True, I've heard that works; but I've often wondered if that would stand up in court. I mean you can't verify what's IN the envelope until you open it. And once it's OPEN, you can write down any lyrics you want and stuff 'em in there, and claim that's what was in the envelope all along.

[gusstro]

i believe that you would make 2 copies before you mailed it, so that you wouldnt have to open it.... just an idea not sure if that is what you meant.

[shredd]

I'd be willing to bet that if a copyright issue ever came up, the procedure would be to bring the selaed envelope to court, where it's opened and the contents are verified.

That's pretty cool, I had no idea this was an acceptable procedure.

Then again, I know a girl who copyrights everything she writes, and apparently it isn't that complicated. In fact, when you're going through the process, you can copyright a number of writings; you don't have to file individually on everything you write....

[TbabyTheWizard]

Then again, I know a girl who copyrights everything she writes, and apparently it isn't that complicated. In fact, when you're going through the process, you can copyright a number of writings; you don't have to file individually on everything you write....

It only gets complicated when you decide to copywrite a melody.

[Midwest Empty]

Keep in mind that unless you ACTUALLY get it copywrited you will only receive future damages if brought to court, and the offender will not have to give you a dime for what they made off it before you brought the claim.

The letter method is a nice idea (as is electronic proof of the date a file was created and last modified, for example) but it's not a good substitute.

[hixonjake]

True, I've heard that works; but I've often wondered if that would stand up in court. I mean you can't verify what's IN the envelope until you open it. And once it's OPEN, you can write down any lyrics you want and stuff 'em in there, and claim that's what was in the envelope all along.


I imagine that the court would have it opened right infront of the judge. And even if by some chance, the opposing party has an envelope with the lyrics enclosed inside also, the earlist one should be verified as the original. So thats why It's best to make sure you get your stuff in check before posting it online, or sharing with fellow musicians.

[GreenAsJade]

1) Your creation is copyrighted automatically as soon as you write/publish it.

2) You can _register_ your copyright.

If you register it, you can sue for damages if someone breaches. If you don't register, you can get a court order for them to withdraw their version, but you can't sue for damages.

As far as I know, the whole "put it in an envelope" business would be a waste of time.

http://www.musicbizacademy.com/internet/how2copyright.htm