AN INTRODUCTION TO COPYRIGHT FOR SONGWRITERS AND LYRICISTS (by Chris Connor)

This month we are delighted to welcome Songbay Artist Chris Connor to our Blog. Chris is a professional  lyricist/songwriter based in UK. His work is in frequent demand on Songbay. Thanks to Chris for this useful article on the mystery of copyright!

For more details of Chris’s work please see his artist page on Songbay-  http://www.songbay.co/artists/1396/

What is Copyright?

The Paperback English Dictionary (Second Edition) defines copyright as: “the exclusive legal right to publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic or musical material.”

Copyright then is a legal concept, which grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights to use and distribute that work, usually for a limited period of time.  In the case of musical works, the duration of copyright is 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last remaining author of the work dies.

A brief history of Copyright law.

In the UK, copyright law is considered to originate in 1709 with The Statute of Anne, which recognised the individual rights of the artist for the first time.  The Berne Convention helped to establish the recognition of copyright across sovereign nations in 1886.  Interestingly, under the convention created works do not have to be asserted or declared; they are automatically subject to copyright in the act of their creation.  The UK signed up to the Berne Convention in 1887, but did not implement large parts of the Convention in statute law until 1988, with the passing of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act.  Under the Act, copyright is an automatic right, arising whenever an individual creates a work.  To qualify a work should be regarded as original and exhibit a degree of labour, skill and judgement.

Why is Copyright important to songwriters and lyricists?

Copyright is important to songwriters and lyricists because the rights to publish, play, perform or record your songs and lyrics can have significant value in terms of the income they generate from licences and royalties.  Copyright offers you some protection against those persons who publish, play, perform or record your songs for personal gain without having your authority to use the copyrighted work via the purchase of an appropriate licence – known as copyright infringement.

How can you protect against Copyright infringement?

One method often suggested to protect your copyrighted work is the “poor man’s copyright”.  This involves placing a signed and dated copy of your song or lyrics into an envelope, sealing the envelope and posting it back to your home address by Registered Post.  The legal consensus. however, is that a more robust method to protect against copyright infringement is to formally record or register your copyrighted work with a reputable company offering this service.  Perhaps the most effective method to protect your copyrighted work is to formally register each draft of your song/lyric as it develops from the first draft through to the final version.  Although this approach may be more costly and time-consuming, it will help you to demonstrate your ownership of the work very effectively, if any copyright infringement should arise in the future.