Music Law: Copyrighting a Song

Registering a copyright to a song is not the easiest process, but it's helpful for songwriters. It preserves your legal claims to songs and your ability to monetize them. In this course, Rich Stim provides essential guidance to navigate the process and understand the main language, concepts, and business aspects of music copyright.

Rich starts by defining what a song copyright and a sound recording copyright are—and how they're different. He defines who owns a song, and how to sort out contributions from multiple writers of the same song. Then he explains how to get a copyright registration using the U.S. Copyright Office's online application process. The course wraps up by discussing possible objections that copyright examiners may have, as well as what to do to maintain your copyright and correct any errors that crop up.


Learning objectives
What is a song copyright?
Who owns a song?
Evaluating cowriters and their contributions
Registering a song copyright
Maintaining a copyright registration