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Now, most of you probably won’t finish this entire thing. I can’t blame you. Reading seems to be an old fasioned practice that no one wants to do anymore.
So, I’ll make this quick:
There are 2 ways to Protect Your Awesome Stuff Son:
One, is to send yourself a registered mail with a CD of your songs in it.
Two, secure a copyright by filling out a form and submitting it to the National Library.
There, you’re done.
Congratulations. You’re protected.
Want more info?
Continue reading.
Congratulations, you’re now one of us who wants more
How to do a Poor Man’s Copyright
A long time ago… this makes me sound like a really old man…
A long time ago, as soon as I figured out how to put together 3 chords and a few words, I performed a Poor Man’s copyright. I got the idea after talking to the front man of one of the pioneering punk bands in Tacloban City, Jerby Santo.
He basically walked me through the process and I had to write it down on paper. Yeah, yeah, we didn’t have cellphones back then. And I was 13 or 14… so…
Here’s how you do it.
- After recording your songs on any media, notate or make a tablature and place your CD inside a brown envelope. The address on your envelope should be your current address. The recipient (Or to whom you’re sending it to, should be your own name).
It’s gonna look funny at first but believe me the local post knows all about these things and they won’t even bat an eye. Which brings us to the second process…
- Head to your local post and tell them you’re going to do a registered mail.
- Pay for the stamps and the fee for sending a registered mail.
- Wait for a few days (I can’t really remember if it even took a week for the mail to reach me. To be safe, let’s say you’ll have to wait for about 2 weeks)
- Once you’ve received your envelope back, keep it in the safest place possible.
For added security. don’t just send one registered mail, send 3 or more and make sure you store each one in a separate place. A bank, a vault, a fireproof container… you choose.
Why do a Poorman’s copyright? The Poorman’s copyright establishes your time of idea conception through proper dating.
So, if anyone were to use your intellectual property wrong and you’d want to complain about infringement, you can present your poor man’s copyright. Or if someone says you copied their idea, you can show your poor man’s copy right as proof of non-infringement (you’re gonna win unless they also have a copyright showing an earlier date)
Securing a Proper Copyright
Securing a Proper Copyright is basically the same except you’ll have to fill out a form (download forms here)
https://www.chipcanonigo.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CopyrightRegReq.pdf
https://www.chipcanonigo.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Copyright_Registration_and_Deposit1.pdf
and instead of the post, you’ll have to go to the National Library to get documentation stamps and to submit your materials.
I try to keep things short because I’m afraid I’ll lose your interest with my long drawn out entries.
If you want more info or you want the ebook we’re planning to release soon, send an email to musikawabad@gmail.com with a letter of expressed desire to receive an ebook from us in the near future.
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