Copyrights

[blkbrd57]

If I join TAXI with the purpose of submitting material on a frequent basis, submission fees & copyrights can begin to add up to a sizable amount of overhead.If I wait to copyright a "collection" of material, I will lose the freedom to "write to order" as opportunities present themselves via TAXI listings.I have read Taxi's recommendation to protect all material before submitting.Could you please share with me the most effective way to address this.Thanks in advance for your input.

[simonparker]

Hey Blkbrd:Only you can determine your comfort level regarding registering your material for copyright.Given what Taxi posts regarding the subject matter, you should be well aware that a copyright is created when you have your song in fixed form. The registration and associated costs ($35/$45 non-online) can be burdensome. Here are some suggestions I think might help:1) Realize that many songwriters do not copyright their material until it's just about ready for commercial release. 2) Copyright registration is mainly helpful should you need to go to federal court for infringement. Infringement cases are rare, and even if you have a legitimate beef, there's no guarantee you will win should you decide to go to court.3) Given that copyright is created in a fixed form, you might want to have witnesses attest to its creation date. You can then register a copyright at a later date. While you might lose some protections afforded for late registration (i.e. Statutory damages, lawyer fees) should there be an issue of infringement, you still have most of the "protections" you need.4) Companies that are reputable should have an abundant sources of songs and are not out to "steal" material. Perhaps you get caught into a false paranoia that someone will hear your material and use it?5) Always put a (c) at the bottom of your lyric sheet, CD, etc. even if it is NOT registered.6) Develop a sense of which songs you think are your strongest and most commercial/biggest money makers and copyright them7) Go out and buy/read Chapter 69 of Pete and Pat Luboff's book "101 Songwriting Wrongs and How to make them Right". It will give you an added level of comfort not to feel you have to copyright everything you write8) Copyright your works to date as a collection, and should they become published, recopyright them indvidually.9) Perhaps use just form SR so you can document the creation/date of both the actual sound recording of your song, and thus, also prove its existence at that date as a written song (form PA/CO)10) Pitch copyrighted material to date or get copyrighted material to date critiqued from TAXI. Should this material be marketable, then perhaps if you have a low comfort level, bite the bullet and copyright your songs.I hope this helps.

[blkbrd57]

Simon,Thank you for such a detailed and prompt response. Your suggestions will be very helpful.