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Magic Copyrights

by Pamela Parker

Just thought I would note that copyright registration is not a magic thing. It does two main things for you:
1. protects your interests in the event of an infringement
2. makes it slightly easier for people who might want to use your previously published work to find you.

The work of getting paid for what you do does not change whather you have a copyright registration or not. If you’ve released recorded music, you’ll have to register the songs with your performing rights society. If you’ve sold written works or art, you’ll need to stay on your auditing provisions to determine how much you should be paid.

And of course, you still need to sell the work to someone in the first place.

Registering your first copyright is an exciting moment, and you should savor the fact that you actually completed a work. Just don’t think copyright registration is a magic moment, because it’s really just an adminsitrative task, like renewing your driver’s license. It’s exciting when you get your license for the first time, but it doesn’t mean much unless you have a car. Copyright registration is the same way - it’s important, but unless you have a sale, it’s pretty meaningless.


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Copyright touches writers, music lovers, teachers, musicians, businesses, artists, amateur filmmakers, students, libraries, and publishers – to name just a few! In other words, these days everyone is affected by copyright and everyone needs to have at least a basic understanding of it. Copyright Talk discusses issues and developments everyone needs to know about.

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