ARCHIVED NEWS

Before I upload my instrumentals to the track dump, I would first like to have my instrumentals copyrighted. If I have samples in my instrumentals can they still be copyrighted? Or do I need to remove the samples from my instrumentals before I submit my SR Form to the Library of Congress?

Bernie's Response:

No, you do not have to remove your "samples."  The copyright application requests that you identify any preexisting work(s) that is based on or incorporated in your work.  However, copyright protection only exists in original works of authorship that contain an expression and are fixed in a tangible form.

In other words, if the musical work you seek to register with the copyright office embodies a "sample", copyright protection will not extend to the incorporated "sample" [the preexisting material]. The creative expression of the original work contributed by the author is independent of any copyright protection in the preexisting "sampled" material.  Therefore, you can seek copyright protection in a work that embodies a "sample", but the "sample" embodied in your work will not be protected.  Please see Title 17, §104(b) of the U.S. Copyright Act for further information.


PMP producers send all questions to support@pmpworldwide.com (Not to Bernie!)


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