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Copyright

Q: Copyrighting lyrics

What is the cheapest and best way to copyright all my song lyrics before entering a studio to record them, or even to perform them live?

A: Unlike in the USA there is no system of copyright registration in the UK. Copyright in a literary, dramatic or musical work is created when, and not before, it is recorded in some written or other form such as, for example, a tape recording. No copyright will subsist at all unless the work satisfies the test of originality, which means that it must be original to the creator who claims copyright in it and will not have the protection of copyright to the extent that it is commonplace or copied from any previous work. The two basic requirements are, therefore, originality and record.

It is possible for two individuals to have separate and concurrent copyright in the same material if independently created by each of them at the same time without knowledge of the other's work. However, it frequently happens that when two people claim copyright in the same or a similar work, each accuses the other of copyright infringement and maintains that his creation came first, in which case the outcome of such a dispute may to some extent turn on timing. That is a matter of evidence and one of the best ways of establishing such evidence is to lodge a written copy of your music and lyrics or a tape recording of them with someone of supposedly impeccable probity, such as a solicitor, barrister, judge or Justice of the Peace or other appropriate person. You should ask the person concerned to mark the document or tape recording with the date and time of receipt, sign it and then either keep it for you in safe custody - which is the best course of action - or return it to you to keep.

If you cannot find a suitable person or for any reason are reluctant to adopt the course suggested above, you can make a statutory declaration - similar to an oath or sworn statement but without having to swear on the Bible - to the effect that you have created the work exhibited to your statutory declaration as your own original creative work on or before the date of the declaration. The declaration should recite that it is your solemn and sincere declaration made under the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. You should sign and declare it in the presence of a solicitor or JP who will witness your signature on the document and himself mark and sign the exhibit. You will be charged a standard, fixed fee of £5 for the declaration plus £2 for the exhibit. You should then keep the declaration and exhibit in some secure place for reference purposes as and when you may need it in the circumstances which I have described.

Neither course will protect you against a claim for infringement of copyright but will at least establish reliable evidence as to a date by which your work came into existence.

First published May 2002