You will receive a certificate of copyright in around 4 months. Thereafter you can use litigation against anyone who uses your copyrighted music. I would suggest scanning the copyright certificate into a picture file so that you can show anyone online at any time if they require proof, although a letter from your lawyer is also quite convincing.

I found a picture of a certificate of recordation. link is http://www.mahendranath.org/copyright/co...

Here are some frequently asked questions about copyright, see even more at source below:

When is my work protected?
Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.”

Does my work have to be published to be protected?
Publication is not necessary for copyright protection.


You can get your music pre registered:
What is preregistration? What works can be preregistered?

Preregistration is a new procedure in the Copyright Office for certain classes of works that the Register of Copyrights has determined have a history of pre-release infringement. Preregistration serves as a place-holder for limited purposes, mainly where a copyright owner needs to sue for infringement while a work is still being prepared for commercial release. Preregistration is not a substitute for registration, and its use is only appropriate in certain circumstances.

How do I preregister?

You must apply online; no paper application form is available. Only an application and fee are required; a copy or phonorecord of the work itself, or any finished part thereof, should not be submitted. Instead, the applicant must give as full a description of the work as possible in the online application.


Pre register here:
http://www.copyright.gov/prereg/index.ht...

Read about copyright laws here:
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/


Lastly, my thoughts are, if you created the music you are in control of who hears it and who is able to record it. So, just be extremely careful during this time that your waiting on a certificate. If it really worries you, I'd call the coptright office and ask them for a document proving the song is yours to keep during the time you are waiting.

Check out the source below, it may answer any further questions you may have, it's loaded.

You can go here to see what a cpoyright certificate looks like or go to ask.com and put "what does a coptright certificate look like"

http://images.ask.com/pictures?q=copyrig...

You can use Creative Commons to license your work so that other people can post it on their site etc.

You also own the rights to your creation without have to register it.

Here's what you do:
For music that you've created, either lyrics or song, you put a copyright notice on your lyrics sheet and on any disc tape or other medium from which the music can be heard. the copyright notice is C with a circle around it, followed by the year, followed by your name or the name of your company claiming the copyright protection. This is called your common law copyright notice. secondly, you may also register your copyright with the united states patent and copyright office and obtain the forms online, fill them out, submit your work to the office with the approproiate filing fee and the copyright office will send you back a document establishing proof of your filed copyright on that song or lyrics that you filed with the office. That filing and the document that comes back from the copyright office is your proof to any would-be copyright infringers that the song and or lyrics belong to you. Registration with the copyright office is essential if you want to go after anyone who has infringed on your copyright.
I trust this information is helpful to you.
Thank you in advance for depositing $100 into my account.

Since you've already applied for your certificate, you just have to wait until it comes and in the meantime protect your music. Control who hears it and DON"T let anyone record it.

Click here to see what a copyright certificate looks like:
http://www.songregistration.com/faq.htm#...

I know this is not that much info, but just take a look at this website, I think it might help you out.



www.GoCopyright.com

Good luck to you!

Copyright is a legal concept enacted by most national governments that gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited period of time. At its most general, it is literally "the right to copy", but also gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who (if anyone) can perform it or adapt it to other forms, to benefit financially from the work, and other related rights. It is one form of intellectual property (distinct from patents, trademarks, and trade secrets), and applies to any particular expression of an idea or information, which is substantial and self-contained in a fixed form.

The symbol for copyright is "©". The letter C inside parentheses, "(c)", although a common practice, has never been legally recognized as a symbol for copyright.

Typically, a work must meet minimal standards of originality in order to qualify for copyright, and the copyright expires after a set period of time (some jurisdictions may allow this to be extended). Different countries impose different tests, although generally the requirements are low; in the United Kingdom there has to be some 'skill, labour and judgment' that has gone into it.However, even fairly trivial amounts of these qualities are sufficient for determining whether a particular act of copying constitutes an infringement of the author's original expression. In Australia and the United Kingdom it has been held that a single word is insufficient to comprise a copyright work. However, single words or a short string of words can sometimes be registered as a trademark instead.

Copyright law recognises the right of an author based on whether the work actually is an original creation, rather than based on whether it is unique; two authors may own copyright on two substantially identical works, if it is determined that neither was copied from the other. Copyright tries to avoid such situations by applying a test of the degree of substantiality of the originality of the work: a work which is trivial and would be easy to incidentally and accidentally replicate without an intention to copy, may not be copyrighted.

In the United States, copyright has been made automatic (in the style of the Berne Convention) since March 1, 1989, which has had the effect of making it appear to be more like a property right. Thus, as with some forms of personal property, a copyright need not be granted or obtained through official registration with any government office. Once an idea has been reduced to tangible form, for example by securing it in a fixed medium (such as a drawing, sheet music, photograph, a videotape or a letter), the copyright holder is entitled to enforce his or her exclusive rights. However, while a copyright need not be officially registered for the copyright owner to begin exercising his or her exclusive rights, registration of works (where the laws of that jurisdiction provide for registration) does have benefits; it serves as prima facie evidence of a valid copyright and enables the copyright holder to seek statutory damages and attorney's fees (whereas in the USA, for instance, registering after an infringement only enables one to receive actual damages and lost profits). The original holder of the copyright may be the employer of the actual author rather than the author himself if the work is a "work for hire". Again, this principle is widespread; in English law the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 provides that where a work in which copyright subsists is made by an employee in the course of that employment, the copyright is automatically owned by the employer which would be a "Work for Hire."

Copyrights are generally enforced by the holder in a civil law court, but there are also criminal infringement statutes. While central registries are kept which aid in proving claims of ownership, registering ownership is not ipso facto proof of ownership, nor is copying (even without permission) ipso facto proof of infringment of copyright. Criminal sanctions are generally aimed at serious counterfeiting activity, but are now becoming more commonplace as copyright collectives such as the RIAA are, more and more, targeting the file sharing home Internet user. Thus far, however, most such cases against file sharers have been settled out of court for several thousand dollars.

Copyright notices in the U.S.

Prior to 1989, use of a copyright notice — consisting of the copyright symbol (©, the letter C inside a circle), the abbreviation "Copr.", or the word "Copyright", followed by the year of the first publication of the work and the name of the copyright holder — was part of United States statutory requirements.Several years may be noted in the case of multiple completion dates - e.g., in the case of ongoing editing. The proper copyright notice for sound recordings of musical or other audio works is a sound recording copyright symbol (℗, the letter P inside a circle), which indicates a sound recording copyright.

In 1989, the U.S. enacted the Berne Convention Implementation Act, amending the 1976 Copyright Act to conform to most of the provisions of the Berne Convention. As a result, the use of copyright notices has become optional to claim copyright, because the Berne Convention makes copyright automatic] However, notice of copyright (using these marks) may have consequences in terms of reduced damages in an infringement lawsuit.

The phrase All rights reserved was once a necessary formal notice indicating all rights granted under existing copyright law are retained by the copyright holder and that legal action may be taken against copyright infringement. It was provided as a result of the Buenos Aires Convention of 1910, which required some statement of reservation of rights to grant international coverage in all the countries that were signatory to that convention. While it is commonplace to see it, this notice is now superfluous, as every country that is a member of the Buenos Aires Convention is also a member of the Berne Convention, which holds a copyright to be valid in all signatory states without any formality of notice. This phrase is sometimes still used even on some documents to which the original author does not retain all rights granted by copyright law, such as works released under a copyleft license. It is, however, only a habitual formality and is unlikely to have legal consequences.

Absence of a copyright notice does not mean that the work is not covered by copyright. The creator of an original work instantaneously possesses its copyright when that work is created through "mental labor" and "fixed" in tangible form. Thus, a natural copyright exists from the time a work is invented or created, regardless of whether it has been registered with a particular Copyright Office.

Since all countries have separate copyright laws, there is no such thing as an "international copyright". The Berne Convention, however, makes the copyright automatic in each signatory. Should copyright infringement litigation ensue, registration with the U.S. Copyright Office may affect the outcome.

"Poor man's copyright"

A widely circulated strategy to avoid the cost of copyright registration is referred to as the "poor man's copyright". It proposes that the creator send the work to himself in a sealed envelope by registered mail, using the postmark to establish the date. This technique has not been recognized by any United States court, and is dismissed as meaningless by the United States Copyright Office. However, the UK Patent Office suggests it as one method of proving the originality of a work as of the postmark date.

Using the work of others
If you use samples of music by other authors in your work, ensure that you get permission to use the work before you attempt to publish or sell your work. Similarly, if you use loops or samples available via sample collections etc. ensure that these are licensed as free to use, or obtain permission first.

Obtaining permission
If you need to get permission to use a piece of music, normally the best place to start is with the last know publisher for the work. They will certainly know how to get permission to use the work, (as they must have permission themselves), so they will certainly know who you would need to contact.

If the work is by an U.S. artist, you could contact the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc), or SESAC.

Band members agreements
Where music is written as a group effort, we recommend that you draw up an agreement to clarify issues, such as which rights belong to which member, and how royalties would be distributed in the event that members of your group leave.

For successful commercial bands, incorporation is also an option. As with a normal incorporated company, the band members would own shares in the band/company. In this situation, a band member would typically sell his shares to the other members if he decided to leave.

.Does copyright protect a band name?
Copyright does not apply to names, neither will it apply to single phrases or slogans. Names may however be regionally protected as a trademark which may be carried out via national patent and trademark offices. To qualify the name should be distinctive, not deceptive or contrary to law or morality, and not similar to previously registered band names

allegro music has it

There are principally 2 types of copyright to consider when we talk about music copyright.

•The traditional ©, ‘C in a circle’ copyright, applies to the composition, musical score, lyrics, as well as any artwork or cover designs, as all of these are individually subject to copyright in their own rights, (though when you register, you can include them all in a single registration provided they have the same copyright owner(s)).
•The second type of copyright applies to the sound recording itself, and is signified by the ‘P in a circle’ .

Using the work of others
If you use samples of music by other authors in your work, ensure that you get permission to use the work before you attempt to publish or sell your work. Similarly, if you use loops or samples available via sample collections etc. ensure that these are licensed as free to use, or obtain permission first.

Obtaining permission
If you need to get permission to use a piece of music, normally the best place to start is with the last know publisher for the work. They will certainly know how to get permission to use the work, (as they must have permission themselves), so they will certainly know who you would need to contact.

If the work is by an U.S. artist, you could contact the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers