Protecting your lyrics and sound recordings
We often get approached by people who compose great lyrics or record amazing new music asking how they can protect their new works from being copied. The simple answer is that under English law you cannot copyright an idea. You can however protect the expression of that idea if it is written down or recorded in some other way (ie on paper or in a sound recording and so on). An idea recorded in such a tangible way making it ‘fixed’ satisfies the requirements of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 – giving rise to copyright protection.
Popular methods of recording lyrics or music that people often use to demonstrate the necessary evidence that they were the first person to compose a song or a melody include the following:
1. Post a letter to yourself – including the lyrics or a CD for a sound recording. This is also known as ‘Poor man’s copyright’ and is probably the most well known method. It involves relying on the postal system to provide evidence of the date when you posted the material back to you. You then have a dated recorded delivery slip and an unopened packet – together this becomes your evidence. In the event of a dispute you should be able to prove your evidence pre-dates that of any infringer. It should be noted that this approach is not wholly reliable. Should your claim go to a court, the dated slip, the unopened envelope and your word that your recorded idea was placed in the envelope at the time of posting is the only evidence you have and it may not be strong enough. It may be hard to persuade the court to think that the contents have not been swapped or that the envelope may have been sealed at a later date.
2. Discuss the matter with your solicitor. It is possible to arrange a meeting with a solicitor to discuss your idea, providing you with evidence of the date of that meeting by virtue of an attendance note. Please contact us if you would like to fix up such a meeting.
3. Register your work with a copyright service. In the UK there are various companies offering registration facilities for a registration fee. Registering your idea is not 100% guaranteed either but it again it provides evidence of ownership, by recording the date and content of what you submitted for protection. In the United States the same principle applies if you register your work with the US Copyright Office, based in the Library of Congress.
For further information about copyright protection in relation to music please contact Chris Phillips (commercial matters) or Mike Shepherd (music disputes).