Should I re-copyright songs that I have reworked?

[davedwards]

I have a copyright question. I have several pieces that I have registered in collections with the copyright office, and now I am developing/revising some of them, often renaming them. Although the core of the (instrumental) piece is the same, I may have added a bridge or other section that was not in the original. Do I need to re-register the revised versions as "derivative works" or is that even necessary? Any insights?

Thanks, Dave

[ragani]

Hi Dave,

I don't know the legal answer to your question, but if it makes you feel any better, I don't re-register all my derivative songs. I release songs as singles or albums, and I only register them once, after I have most all the parts mixed and completed. I suppose one could re-register all variations, but I do know that once it's in hard copy the copyright date is set already (just not officially with any submission), so I always keep my earliest track recording for the actual copyright date too.

Now if it was significantly different mix and arrangement, and if I was doing a full album of songs, I might re-register them. But for me it's not economically feasible to re-register materials each time they are re-worked.

So there's my non-advice. At least you can know what I've been doing for the past 10 years of my artist career. And we'll see who else might chime in here... My guess is that most people doing film/tv work don't register with the copyright office until they have a full CD of works-- or maybe not at all?-- as it would just be too costly, but that's just my guess.

Cheers,
Raags

[davedwards]

Thanks Raags,

That's as good an answer as any, since I don't expect to get actual legal advice on this forum. Just tips from folks who've been doing this a while. Thanks for the input.

Dave