The answer is “no” and “yes.” The “no” is first because of how copyrights work. A copyright for a song comes into existence when the song is created. Thus, you do not need a lawyer to copyright a song since the song is copyrighted when it is written and reduced to paper, computer file, or recording. In fact, technically, you do not need to do anything else. Once you create a song, it is copyrighted.
But, as with many things legal, matters are not quite so simple. Copyrights are legal protection that allows the creator
- To have exclusive use of the created work
- To sell and perform your song
- To create derivative works based on the original
- To prevent others from using/performing the work
- To license or sell the original work
But, to have the most comprehensive legal protection, the owner of a copyright should register the copyright with the US Copyright Office. Once you have the copyright registered, additional legal protections come into being, such as the ability to sue a person or business for infringing your copyright. You can sue for money and statutory damages, which can be substantial. Note that copyrights are protected at the federal level under the US Copyright Act but also at the State level through various State laws and State judicial decisions.
Technically, you do not need a lawyer to register a copyright with the US Copyright Office. However, it is better and wiser to hire an experienced copyright lawyer to accomplish the registration. Sometimes, registration can be complicated. For example, with a song, there are at least two copyrightable original works: the music and the lyrics. Copyright exists for each, and each should be registered as separate copyright. Further, a third potential copyright registration exists if the song has been recorded. The recording is a separately copyrightable original work that can be registered. An additional original work might exist if there is a video involved — which does not necessarily mean a produced and choreographed “music video,” but just a visual recording of the performance. Copyrights for sound and audio recordings can be registered but have some nuances that a talented copyright lawyer can assist with.
Another complicating factor involves the potential for split ownership of the copyright. If the song, lyrics, performance, and video are all created solely by one person, then matters are simple enough. That one person owns all of the copyrights. However, songs are usually created with some joint effort. Likewise, performances are usually a process of joint efforts from musicians, producers, audio recorders, camera technicians, etc. So, it can be very important to have a copyright lawyer help with identifying who are the other potential co-claimants for the copyrights to be registered and to help figure out what the ownership percentages are. Such should be reduced to writing, and dedicated copyright lawyers are important for that.
Contact the Song Copyright Attorneys at Revision Legal
For more information, contact the experienced Song Copyright Lawyers at Revision Legal. You can contact us through the form on this page or call (855) 473-8474.
