Here are a few frequently asked questions about copyright: Q: If I have my songs notarized, are they protected from being stolen? A: No. A signature guarantee by a notary is not proof of copyright. Q: I used the “poor man’s copyright” to protect my songs. I mailed my songs to myself using registered mail. I was told that the unopened letter is proof of copyright. Is that true? A: No. The so called “poor man’s copyright” has not stood up in court. You must have your song registered with the U.S. Copyright Office before you can even file a copyright infringement case in the United States. The ONLY way to insure that your work is protected in the United States is to register your work with the United States Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. If you want to be sure your copyright registration is submitted correctly, Empire will file the copyright registration with the United States Copyright Office for you. The cost to use our copyright service is only $99.00* per song, and it includes all fees. There is nothing else to pay. An attorney would charge you many hundreds of dollars more. We GUARANTEE that your registration will be accepted by the Copyright Office, or we will give you a total refund. We need one copy of each song to file with the Copyright Office: A CD, audio cassette, or a copy of the lead sheets. Any one of those will be sufficient. (If your songs were recorded by Empire Music Co., no need to send any copies. We have them on file.) Song Titles and year song was written: __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ If you have many songs to copyright, the copyright fees can really add up. In order to save money, we can register all your songs as a collection for one fee of $129.00*. Any number of songs can be in the collection, however they must all be filed under one title. Please give the title you want your collection of songs to have: __________________________________________________________ We need one copy of each song to be included in your collection: A CD, audio cassette or lead sheet. Any one of those will be sufficient. (If your songs were recorded by Empire Music Co., no need to send any copies. We have them on file.) Please send us the following information or fill in this form: Author(s) name, address, telephone and email address: Author(s) year of birth and citizen of: If the author(s) uses a pen name, give real name then pen name: If this work has previously been copyrighted, why are you registering it again? (New music or new words?) Give the previous registration number and year of registration: Make checks and money orders payable to Empire Music Co. Your song(s) will be shipped to the Copyright Office within five days of receiving your request if your payment is in the form of a money order. Personal checks can take as long as three weeks to clear. For orders from outside the United States, payment must be made by an International Money Order that clears through a U.S. bank in U.S. dollars. (*Residents of New York State, please add 8.875% sales tax) Send your information, song and payment to: Empire Music Co. PO Box 2145 Newburgh, NY 12550 Questions? Write us a letter, or email: jstone3216@yahoo.com © 2011 Empire Music Company