Legal Question in Entertainment Law in Texas

Re: Copyrighting Music

I suggest you pick up a copy of a small book entitled: Easy Review for Copyright Law, by Allison B. Hoch. It gives you a good overview of what you need to do as well as a discussion of Copyright Law in general.

Re: Copyrighting Music

Go to www.locweb.gov/copyrights and you will find basic information and even forms direct from the US Copyright Office.

To answer your question, copyright is AUTOMATIC. If you create original music, you have a copyright. To enforce the copyright, you need to register it, which is probably what you really meant to ask how to do. That takes a two page form, $30, and a copy of the music. If you go to the following link, and have Adobe Acrobat on your computer (a free reader is available), you can download the instructions for the form at http://www.loc.gov/copyright/forms/formpai.pdf if it is written music or http://www.loc.gov/copyright/forms/formpai.pdf if it is sound recordings.

I would strongly suggest you use a copyright attorney the first time to try to register so you don't screw it up. After a couple of times, you can probably do a registration yourself.

Check my copyright webpages at http://burdicklawfirm.tripod.com/webcop.htm for links to all the copyright information copyright information you likely will ever need.