Actually, intellectual property is protected from the moment on it has been created, by International Copyright Laws (unless you live in Iran or China or so )

The problem is just proving it, in case your work has been stolen, that you created it first.
Posting a CD to yourself (registered!) is also the easiest way I know... I even would include the lyrics and a leadsheet, or notes.
As soon as your music has been published somewhere, there should be no problems anymore...

I think a possibility is also to create lots of witnesses... which means, show your track to family members and a lot of friends (hopefully it will not be stolen by a friend ).

 

Hi,

If you are into sounddesign and producing jingles for clients they have the chance to file a trademark. Please consult the relevant trademark law as protection differs. Patents are reserved for inventions (i.e. devices, procedures etc.). You will not receive a grant for a patent that is limited to music as such except some sort of procedure or device is part of the game (if you invented a method for generative music you might get a patent on that in the US. not in the EU unless a device is involved). Harmonized criteria of patentability have been set in the Strassbourg Convention and implicitly in the Patent Cooperation Treat or the European Patent Convention.

For everyday use copyright is the automatic right. You can grant the rights of using your IP to others either exclusively or non-exclusively. Copyright can not be taken away unless the material is not original and not copyrightable in the first place.

In the old days we made mixdowns to CD and put those in an envelope which we send by registered mail to a lawyer who would archive it against a fee. That way you can at least proof recording date in case someone is sampling your work and you have to proof time of production. Sending via registered mail to self is an option, too... and cheaper...

You might also consider Creative Commons Licensing (http://creativecommons.org/) which would help to clarify licensing issues.

If you go for the send-to-self-method, please make sure you use tamper-proof packaging and in case you plan to do this a lot, some easy to go archiving and filing system. Also, never open such an envelope on your own but always(!) with a lawyer as a witness. Make sure said lawyer attests that the envelope has not been tampered with. The reason for this is that you could send yourself an open (i.e. not tamper-free sealed) envelope to yourself via registered mail and then(!) put the CD in any time in the future.

If you record to tape (yes, i know. nobody does. me neither) keep the master tapes. Having the multitrack of something usually is also good proof. In that case the other party would have to proof that you stole those.

Other things you might consider if you have your things in digital circulation is watermarking them. This is what most professional photographers will do with their photos.

best,
opty

 

Here are my thoughts on this and be warned I am one for sharing as much as humanly possible:

First off, if someone does steal your track or idea that's free advertising, they're promoting your sound.

Second, if they steal part of your track or what have you and you're afraid they're gonna make it sound better, then you have confidence problems. You should be proud of your work and if you're not, improve it.

Third, give 90% of your stuff out for free, keep that exclusive 10% for labels and what not, but it's quite imperative that when starting out and even when in advanced stages of development, you give your stuff away. There's a bunch of sites pirating my music, I told my friends on facebook, if you want the song, just ask me for it, you don't have to pay for it... you know I'll give it away for free.

I'm guessing it's the opensource heart in me that's making me be like this, believe me it's a great and positive approach to music

 

yep I fully agree with you...word of mouth and friends are the best way to spread music at the beginning!

but isnt it terribly ironic to see a topic like that on website that's part of a network promoting warez...

 

Yes, I have been thinking this myself already, it's a bit ironic indeed

I think no one would be that stupid to just grab your track, and petend it to be their own.
The problem is they can steal a song... by recording it again, of course, and claiming that they have written it.

Ok, maybe that's not too much an issue with electronic music, I'm talking about song structures, melodies and harmonies here
(Sorry for that )

 

yeah but when someone ask them to write one again...how are they gonna do that...they write and beg you do it
doesnt make much sense does it?

 

even if they do copy words, structure, what not, you're starting a trend you should be happy about it haha

 

It wouldn't be the first time in (music) history that someone steals a song, and shurely not the last time.

The last case I can remember is the melody Coldplay "borrowed" from Joe Satriani.
They had to pay him a huge amount of money.

@ John C.

I think you would see it different, if someone has a major hit with what you have written, and makes millions with it.

 

in this case you just need to upload your song to soundcloud or some other site(to have a proof of the date you made it)
and pray that someone steals it and makes millions with it...then just sue the guy!

 

@Gulliver now I think that's bullshit bro, just because I had the same or a very similar progression of notes in a completely different song, how the f. do you call that plagiarism???? Is it impossible for me to come up with the same melody as you note wise? Or copy a sound in vogue? I think not, there's a definite standard to what we consider commercial and when limited to a certain genre it becomes even easier, for example take the specific of a Swedish House Mafia song in Progressive House and you'll figure out that there's SO many producers trying to copy what they did, and they do, and they might sound the same - shit there's even tutorials on how to sound like SHM... Look at hiphop/rap these producers thrive off of reviving old songs, I think there's quite a bit of lee-way when it comes to how you identify plagiarism in music because it has got to be more to it then "oh it just sounded similar" because music's music man...

There was this famous case that always comes to me - if you know the Romanian hit Ozone - Dragostea din Tei... well this other group called "Haiducii" stole THEIR ENTIRE SONG ))) like literally everything reengineered and rerecorded and they released it in Italy, and it got HUGE over there - well needless to say they fought over it and it got huge all over the world under the original artist (Ozone's) name.

I would see it just as an opportunity to get bigger, I would probably be frustrated, but if those people could do it with my material why wouldn't I be able to do it myself???

 

So what exactly is the bullshit?

There are exact specifications, when something is regarded as plagiarism and when not, you can recherche it in the net, if you want to read about it.

If you stole a melody, or it just incidentally happened that you wrote the same melody as someone else, doesn't matter at all.

 

Im with JC on this one,i have made available as many free tracks to download as i have had signed so far and send promo out to many people before a track is even offered to a label.Its all good PR and i do find it very ironic that people on this site are worried about copyright

If your song is good enough to be stolen and become a major hit then surely you didnt approach the right labels with it to get in there 1st
The day any of my release hit beatport and are available for download off share sites i will know i have made it! :dancing: :dancing: :dancing:

 

what the guys on here are talking about is called (( A POR MANS COPE RITE )) one thing is remember when you get it back in the mail don't open it just put it away some were were you remember lol and if the time ever comes that you mite have to go to court then you let the jug OPEN IT''