(reference one)
Allegro Music World » How Do I Copyright My Song?Form PA is used when you have the music and lyrics written down. Keep in mind that according to US law, the song is copyrighted as soon as you write it. ...
www.allegromusicworld.com/2006/03/07/how-do-i-copy
right-my-song/

...

(reference one)
Allegro Music World » How Do I Copyright My Song?Form PA is used when you have the music and lyrics written down. Keep in mind that according to US law, the song is copyrighted as soon as you write it. ...
www.allegromusicworld.com/2006/03/07/how-do-i-copy
right-my-song/

(reference 2)
Music is copyrighted as soon as you present it in a fixed form. It doesn't matter whether that fixed form is written sheet music or a recording. Most people who copyright music do so for the extra legal protection. Even though a copyright is good to have, it is essentially worthless unless you've registered your copyright with the Library of Congress. You will need to fill out an application, pay a fee, and provide a copy of your music. As far as government dealings go, this is one of the least painful. Even the application fee is marginal when you consider the fact you are protecting potential future profits and royalties from your music.

Even if you aren't a talented performer, it doesn't mean your music will never be seen or heard, nor does it mean you should not bother copyrighting your music. One day you might find yourself more in demand for your talents than you ever dreamed possible. It is important to protect your music now more than ever before in history due to widespread music piracy and illegal music file-sharing.

Once you understand how to copyright music, you should copyright every sheet of music which you have produced. This involves registering each and every piece of music with the Library of Congress. Even if you must copyright one piece at a time until you manage to copyright all of them, it is much better to be safe than sorry should you ever go to trial in a copyright infringement case.

Copyright Music, Consecutive Notes, and Fair Use

Copyright music, consecutive notes, and lyrics are all covered under the blanket of copyright protection. Once you've registered your copyright you have legal recourse should someone steal or “borrow” any part of your music without permission. Many websites which publish lyrics to your favorite song are actually infringing on the copyright of the author and the recording artist. It is not legal to use any part of the song that isn't covered by Fair Use without the express permission of the holder of the copyright. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between Fair Use and copyright infringement. Copyrighted music pays musicians royalties, while Fair Use will not take those future payments from the authors for the sake of personal entertainment.

Fair Use was once thought to mean that if you weren't making money from the copy or use of materials then it was allowable. This is one of the arguments that was used when defending massive file sharing servers; the defense, however, falls flat of the law. It is illegal to share copyright music, consecutive notes, lyrics, tabs, chords, or any other part of the music. The only case in which copying of music is clearly allowable is when used for non-profit education and educational research, for the purpose of criticism, commentary, and news reporting. According to copyright law, ripping your CDs is an infringement of copyright.

The result of massive file sharing has prompted new laws to address the problem and provide a clearer definition of what is not allowable. According to recent amendments, you must have the express permission of the performer to fix the sounds or images into any type of phonorecord, to transmit these sounds to others, or to offer to distribute, sell, or rent any of the copyrighted material. That about sums up file sharing in a nutshell and clearly establishes the practice as illegal.

Many musicians and artists copyright music, lyrics, and performances to protect those things from abuse, misuse, and to protect their interests. While some may be artists who perform for the sake of the art, most of them are not independently wealthy and need the income that results from the sales of their music. Many have families to feed as well as fabulous lifestyles. Regardless of their inherent needs for the funds, they've provided a service (entertainment) that we place a certain value on and they deserve to get paid for the services they provide
http://geronimo-download-movie...

(reference three)
What is Copyright?
A song is actually copyrighted the second someone finishes creating it. In any physical form. On CD. Sheet music. Written on a piece of paper. Anything physical. Nothing more is legally required. It's technically protected by copyright laws without registering ANYTHING with ANYONE!
The problem is PROVING when you physically created your song. And registering it with the Copyright Office does NOT prove when you created it. We know people THINK that's how you copyright a song - registering it with the Copyright Office - but that's just not true! Ask any copyright attorney if you don't believe us!
3 Ways to Prove Copyright
There are basically 3 ways to prove when you first created your song: One is trying to do it yourself. The second is to use an independent service such as SongRegistration.com. And the third would be filing with the Copyright Office, with or without an attorney.
ANY of those ways can be used in Court to help you prove you created your song first.
So which one should you use?
Which Way is Best?
We DON'T recommend that first way -- using you or friends to prove when your songs were created (sometimes called the "poor man's copyright") because it's just not very reliable. Instead, you should always have an INDEPENDENT source for proof as to when your songs were created.
The Copyright Office is one such independent source, and we do recommend eventually registering your songs with them. But that can be expensive, complicated and time-consuming, especially if you're on a tight budget, or don't yet have a record label or publisher.
Plus, as already discussed (see button #1 and our FAQ's), the Copyright Office does NOT "copyright" or protect your songs any better than other independent methods.
We suggest using SongRegistration.com FIRST - since it's cheaper, quicker and simpler. To learn just how simple it is,
http://www.songregistration.co...

(reference 4)
Here's something that you need to know Music Deals, Music Contracts, Copyright Law, Music Downloads, Works for Hire, Agencies , Music Rights , License
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Mus...

Some of the information that you may be aware...however, you must be awared of the music laws (reference 4) is very informative.

(Reference three) site has a copy of the "certificate of registration". This the appropriate title.
Good Luck

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....

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/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.
...

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/prere...

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


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...

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

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 state...

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.co......

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.co...

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

...

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,...

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.