I'd like to sell my piano compositions to people but obviously I want to copyright it so they don't claim it or copy it and all that. If I simply put the copyright symbol followed by my name and the year at the bottom of the page, is that enough to protect my works?

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You are partly right. Simply by creating your work and properly signifying that it IS yours, offers you some copyright protection. However, additional legal protection is available only by registering your copyright. ( http://www.copyright.gov )

Your compositions are protected by copyright as soon as they are written down; you don't have to do anything. It used to be necessary to put a copyright notice on your work in order to be protected, but that hasn't been true for many years. Today you don't have to do anything. However, you can register your copyright with the government if you want. It makes it easier to sue someone who steals your work, and it allows you to recover larger damages, too. You just send a copy of your composition to the Library of Congress, with a form and a fee. You can file online: http://www.copyright.gov/eco Again, registration isn't necessary, but it makes it easier to take legal action should you ever need to do so. You can put the copyright notice, including the © symbol, on your work immediately; it doesn't have to be registered. The notice reminds people that your work is protected by copyright. But the notice is not necessary. You're protected with or without it.

Vince M is on the money here. Technically, it's copyrighted as soon as you put the symbol plus the date. However, this will never stand up in a court of law should it ever come to that. You will want to take the correct course of action (according to your country of residence) to secure your work. In the USA, it's the Library of Congress - outside of that your guess is as good as mine. You can copyright a work or a collection of works at one time using them. They'll also allow you to copyright a performance of it as you can also submit a recorded version of said work . . . Last I checked (a while ago as most my works are played by my band and most likely not to be ripped off . . ) It cost $10 per application. Might be more these days . . . There's also called the "poor man's copyright" . . . This involves dating the composition, addressing a letter to yourself, stuffing the printed version into the envelope and sending it back to yourself. The idea being that the date/time stamp from the post office will prove the date of copyright. However, I don't know if this will actually hold up in a court of law, again, should you need to go to court. One thing to consider, these days, is that no one really thinks anything about personal intellectual copyrights. Most have no conscience about downloading song off the internet illegally. My thought is this - if they think it worthy enough to download it - they like it. Giving you more publicity in the be all end all. Let 'em download it - just means your name is getting out there! Hope that helps

While technically the work is copyrighted once it is completed, you have no meaningful legal protection until you register your work. The so-called "poor mans copyright" of just putting the (C) or mailing yourself a copy of the work offers the most minimal legal protection for your work. The problem with this kinds of "copyright" is that they don't meet the standard of evidence required in a court of law. These suits turn into a he-said-she-said battle and usually the person with the better lawyer wins. Also from the Copyright Office: "Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is necessary for works of U.S. origin." To translate if your work isn't registered a judge may rule that you have no standing to sue the person who stole your work. And the other person registers your work under their name then it gets really messy. If you're just starting out as an unknown composer it's probably nothing to worry about, but just realize until it's officially registered it's not really protected.

Just so you know. I copyrighted an original tune two years ago with the Library of Congress and it cost forty or forty-five dollars. I have also Registered a group of original songs several times to avoid the steep cost of individually copyrighting each song. The last song I copyrighted took two years to receive my Certificate of Copyright. The Library of Congress must be overwhelmed. I do always send my music through certified mail then you know that it did make it to the Library of Congress. Years ago it only took a couple of months to receive the Copyright Certificate. They must be getting slammed. Good luck to you.

Copyright notice is optional. Has been since 1989, as is registration. In most countries you cannot register copyright. The only "proof" you need is a dated copy with your name on it, and it becomes the defendant's burden to prove his work was before yours. The "poor man's copyright" is also called "the foolish man's copyright", if you mail something to yourself. This is because of the simple fact that the post office will, in fact, postmark and deliver an unsealed or a resealable envelope and you would STILL have to prove what was in it when you mailed it. If you have that kind of proof (e.g., a signed and notarized affidavit of two witnesses), you have no reason to mail it. Registration in the US copyright office can be done online these days, giving you not only a registration that you would need for proof of ownership if you ever take it to federal court, you also get the right to sue infringers for "statutory damages" of up to $150,000 for each of your works that they copy, publish, distribute or modify without your permission. For "proper" copyright notice, use the word Copyright or Copr. or circle-C, not the C in parentheses, followed by the date of creation followed by your name or other unique identifier.

(c) is not the same as ©. Use either the © symbol or the word copyright, not (c) ... While it is definitely worth placing on your music, you actually don't need the '© name, year.' Intellectual copyright is assumed, but you cannot prove it without registering for a true copyright. To apply for a copyright on a piece (or a folio of pieces) apply with the copyright office. http://www.copyright.gov Otherwise, while you may have copyright on a piece of music, you won't be able to defend it without the registration.