SongRegistration.com™ provides evidence of your copyright for the protection of songwriters, music publishers and their work.

It's easy, fast, convenient and you can register online.

A. YOU receive:         •  Time-stamped Certificate of Registration         •  Dated proof of composer information         •  Dated proof of song content received B. WE retain your evidence of copyright:         •   Your songs (dated song content)         •   Dated copies of all registration documents

Commonly called the "poor man's copyright," DO NOT RELY ON THIS METHOD!

NO known court case has EVER recognized this technique (mailing a copy to yourself or a friend, then trying to use the postmark or certification as proof) since it's unreliable, too easy to tamper with, and you – and your friends – are BIASED witnesses!

Just ask yourself this:  What proof sounds more persuasive in a copyright battle:  An envelope allegedly kept by YOU or your FRIENDS? Or the unbiased, sworn declaration and physical evidence prepared and maintained by an independent company recognized worldwide as in the business of registering music specifically for copyright verification?

(To read more about the Poor Man's Copyright Myth, click here.)

It's all done in 3 simple steps (by clicking the "Register Your Songs" button):

Step 1: You list your titles and composer information.

Step 2: You pay the $29.95 registration fee for up to 4 songs (we accept PayPal, credit cards or you can mail a check).

Step 3: You use our Instant Uploader to browse your computer for your song files, then click a button to send copies of them to us (or you can send them as email attachments).

[Of course, we can only register what you submit!  For instance, if you only send lyrics - without music - we can only provide proof for those lyrics, not the music; if you send only music or chords, we can only attest to that, etc.]

NOTE: If you upload or mail us AUDIO files, and if you can hear the lyrics in those files, YOU DO NOT NEED TO UPLOAD OR MAIL SEPARATE WRITTEN LYRICS AS WELL.

And that's it!   Once received, we send you all necessary proof of your dated submissions and retain redundant offline copies in multiple, secure locations (see Answer #8 for exactly what you receive).

And if you'd rather just MAIL everything to us instead (and you live in the U.S.), CLICK HERE
 

**** For how to register songs from a CD, click here! ****

No and no!  Contrary to what many composers think, securing copyright protection does NOT require registering with the Copyright Office (or with SongRegistration.com™, for that matter)!

Securing your copyright itself is an automatic process.  Copyright protection attaches as soon as original material is first put into physical form and no U.S. government agency "grants" you a copyright!

It's proving that automatic copyright that's critical (by making a dated public record of it).   The Copyright Office makes this clear — that registration there is NOT necessary for copyright protection (also see answer #10).

As for why you may also wish to register with the Copyright Office even if it's not necessary for copyright protection, a primary reason is that federal registration is required — not because this "copyrights" your material (since that is an automatic process) — but as a prerequisite to actually filing your infringement lawsuit in federal court regarding a particular song.

There are also certain statutory advantages regarding fees, injunctive relief and burdens of proof that make federal copyright registration a definite consideration (and why we encourage it)!

These and other reasons to also register with the Copyright Office are described in the Copyright Office's publication "Copyright Basics" (linked in answer 10 below) — and a few are discussed in our free Copyright Info Packet — but NONE of them involves actually "granting" you a copyright since, as already mentioned, you do NOT get a copyright that way!

(Your copyrights are registered with us independently, on our secure servers, NOT with the Copyright Office/Library of Congress.)

Absolutely!   In fact, we encourage you to do just that (both as a prerequisite to the filing of an actual infringement lawsuit in federal court and for the statutory benefits of such federal registration).  This, supplemented with the proof provided by SongRegistration.com™, offers the best protection — especially for particular songs determined to merit the extra effort, as well as for showing that your material was in physical form even BEFORE federal registration was filed!

But registration with the Copyright Office is NOT a condition of copyright protection and no such registration is required to secure copyright!  The key to such protection is who put the material into tangible (physical) form first.  And the dated material we maintain for you is specifically intended for that purpose!

So if your budget is tight — and you don't want to wait or deal with the formal registration process with the Copyright Office right now — at least register your songs with SongRegistration.com™ as soon as possible!

[Federal registration can technically be done during the "life" of your copyright (which in the U.S. generally is the songwriter's lifetime plus 70 years).  To read more about the timing of a Copyright Office registration and other details of federal registration, see "Copyright Basics" linked in answer #10 and/or speak with a knowledgeable copyright attorney in your area.]

You can register up to 4 songs* for a one-time, total fee of just $29.95!   That's less than $7.50 a song if you register 4 songs!   No catches, no strings, no "membership fees," no annual or future costs.  EVER.

Of course, you can always register more than 4 songs.   And your total fee will never be more than $29.95 per "batch" (which is 1 to 4 songs submitted at the same time).

No (and neither can the Copyright Office).   We can only help you prove when the song was submitted and its contents.   If you sell or assign the rights to your song to someone else -- or work for someone who by the employment contract owns whatever you compose while so employed -- that requires a separate contract agreement.   Whoever claims ownership or transfer rights (from you) to the song would be required to show evidence of such a contract.   We obviously can't help you prove anything about any separate contracts or agreements you may have.

First, we are one of the largest and most trusted names in independent music registration in the world, so we intend to continue providing the music community with copyright registration services over the years just as we've been doing!

Also, we have a proven track record for maintaining quality legal and professional websites over the past 15+ years, since the very earliest stages of the Internet (to read more about our credentials click here).

In fact, SongRegistration.com™ has grown beyond all projections in both popularity and worldwide numbers of registered composers and music publishers every single year since its inception!

And the reason is simple:  We serve a critical function within the music industry and offer our clients excellent service and security, at a very reasonable price.   And we intend to continue meeting the needs of our worldwide clientele as the music industry continues its transformation.

But regardless, once you register your songs, we provide you with all registration documents verifying your submitted material and information.  Also, our archives are independently maintained through servers and storage facilities in three redundant and geographically-separate locations and will always remain accessible for the legal needs of our registrars.

Yes. Although there's no such thing as an "international copyright" and each country's own copyright laws prevail in that country, most countries in the civilized world have treaties with each other regarding mutual copyright protection. For a list of these countries, here are two links:

• From Wikipedia
  
• From the U.S. Copyright Office

Since this information is not intended to serve as legal advice of any kind, and since you should NEVER accept any general statements about legal issues (especially ones read on the Internet) as definitive statements of law, we definitely encourage you to NOT take our word for it and instead read the actual federal copyright laws!

Here are actual excerpts from the Copyright Office's main publication:

		← From the Library of Congress' Copyright Basics     Bottom of page 3: "The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood.   No...registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright."   Page 7 (first full paragraph): "Registration [with the Copyright Office] is not a condition of copyright protection."

The above publication clarifies what registering with the Copyright Office does — and does not — do, so do read it thoroughly!  

As it explains, registering with the Copyright Office does not "grant" you a copyright or copyright protection.  Rather, it makes a record of your "automatic" copyright, similar to what SongRegistration.com™ does.   Click here to access the Copyright Office's publication.

We also encourage you to check with an attorney knowledgeable in copyright and intellectual property law if you have any questions or concerns about any aspect of copyright law!