US Copyright Laws

The U.S. copyright office defines copyright as a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual work. This protection is available to authors of both published and unpublished works. A person can copyright a book, article, screenplay, movie, play, dance choreography, a work of art such as a painting, sculpture, blueprints and architectural designs, as well as musical compositions and sound recordings. The only thing that cannot be copyrighted is an idea. Only expressions of an idea can be copyrighted. Copyrighted material has to be original and tangible, and it has to be included in one of the categories mentioned above.
If someone uses
In the 1830s, copyright covered sheet music. In 1909, the copyright law was rewritten, and live performances were protected.
A copyright cannot be continued forever. The length of a copyright’s protection of a work is based on the author’s date of death. A copyright lasts for 28 years after the author’s death if it is not renewed or 95 years for works copyrighted in the years 1923-1963; and 95 years for works copyrighted from 1964-1977. Thereafter, a copyright lasts for the length of the author’s life plus 70 years. Copyrights issued prior to 1923 have expired.
In the music industry, some things are copyrightable and other things are not. A songwriter can copyright only a melody and lyrics. A musician cannot copyright titles of songs, chord changes, or a band’s name. Also, a musician can record a song and submit it to the copyright office. Sheet music is not necessary to get a composition copyrighted because there are a lot of musicians who don’t have the skills to write a song down. The U.S. Copyright office accepts songs in both written form and as