Getting a Free Copyright and the 6 Rights of Copyrighting

Securing a Copyright is FREE and not difficult at all. In fact, it is elementary. If you write a song, or poem on a piece of paper, you have a full copyright. That's it. Nothing else is required to secure a Copyright. In fact, Registering a work with the US Copyright office does not give you a copyright. That is the law.

When you have a Copyright, you have six exclusive rights:

1) The exclusive right to reproduce the work. An example of this is having your song on one CD and allowing that cd to be copied a million times. By law, no one can copy your work without your permission, unless they pay you a 8.5 cent royalty per cd (for songs).

2) The exclusive right to prepare derivative works. And example would be if you wrote a novel, which becomes a best seller. A year later, a movie company wants to make a movie out of your novel. The movie company must get your permission to make the movie since it would be "derived" from your work.

3) The exclusive right to distribute copies of the work. An example of this would be a distributor. A distributor or any person must have permission to distribute your work.

4) The exclusive right to perform the work publicly. As it relates to songs, a radio station or DJ cannot play your song without a license from you or (ASCAP, BMI).

5) The exclusive right to display the work This has to do with those who are painters. Only the copyright holder can allow others to visually see their work.

6) The exclusive right to perform the work publicly by digital audio transmission. This has to do with Record Labels. This is the Sound Recording Copyright. This allows certain companies to collect royalties for certain performances.