Copyright

http://www.patentsoffice.ie/en/copyright_whatis.aspx

These guys are also worth contacting.

seannash wrote: »

So would posting it on a site like soundcloud mean there is a record of creation and also that they had access to hearing it


To be honest your worrying about nothing,Id imagine those days are long gone.

The license is set as soon as you upload - it's automatically set to your favor and rights - you can choose to make it publiic domain if you want also. You are protected yes - but local law may vary.

seannash wrote: »

Do people genuinely need to be worried about this in this day and age?

I know that if your material gets signed that they need to know that the copyright is established and clear who the owners are.

Then when infringements happen they can pursue thoroughly until they get stuff pulled or stopped. The larger the potential earnings, the more aggressive they will act to secure the representation and income (basically making sure that the focus is on their product and not other forms)

I'd probably take legal/official advice when you have something in your hands that you know is a winner - or planning on investing in. Most labels would secure the copyright for you (and make sure it's yours) - but even that can backfire in the small print. People send me contracts that are purely malicious and work on taking rights away in subtle ways (or a cut of them).

Not quite, there's a little more to it than just posting it to yourself, as shown in the link:

There is no actual system for copyrighting a work of creativity. Copyright automatically subsists by virtue of an original work being produced in material form...

And a key point:
5. Keep the envelope in a safe place (e.g. your solicitor's office or a bank).

But I do think that the advice IMRO give above is very basic textbook stuff, and not what you'd get from a solicitor specialising in music. It's better to get off your ass and phone/ meet someone from IMRO, especially given that the issue is developing every day.

A look at court transcripts in copyright cases will show that you need a lot more evidence than that to prove ownership conclusively. There's no point in sending it to yourself and doing nothing else with it- you should be gigging and promoting the song, setting up a label, getting distribution deals, publishing etc. basically getting it out there. Then if it ever arises you can present a paper trail and witnesses.