When I copyright a song in U.S., nobody can used it in china?

Question

Copyright laws are restricted only to one country?
if I want to copyright my nick e.x. Peter as an artist name..nobody can use it? and what about the melody of a song?..How could you know if it already exists?..I saw many bands that have the same name but in different countries, how could I avoid that??..Are there international laws for copyright?

Answer 1

It varies depending on country.

First of all... band names aren't copyrighted, they're trademarked. Quite a difference. And you'd probably have a really hard time trademarking "Peter".

Secondly... the US copyright office has an agreement with the copyright office of most other countries (well, most other countries that actually have copyright laws and a market for such thing). So, while your work probably wouldn't be protected in China, it *would* be protected in the UK, France, Sweden, Canada, Egypt, Italy, Brazil, etc... But in China, Thailand, Zaire, etc... you're probably out of luck.

As for knowing if the melody already exists... you don't. Not unless you listen to every single song. Of course, that's how most cases of copyright infringement come up.

Answer 2

International complaints of copyright infringement are handled by the World Trade Organization (WTO). All participants in the WTO must honor the rights of the home country of the author. That includes China, even though China does not offer copyright to its own citizens.

To have a copyright, it must be your original work. Unlike patents, similarity with other works is not an issue, unless for some reason you stole something and then claimed as your own. So an international search for melodies is never needed. Being first is not an issue either, just originality, and so same sounding songs can each carry valid copyrights.

Answer 3

Hello, this is Onist. I don't usually answer questions like this, but I do have an answer for you.

In china there is no such thing as copyright. They can use song or product and make more money from it than you.

You could build a store in China and they could build the exact same store next door and sell their version of whatever you have and it would be totally legal.\

Hope that help. GOOD LUCK..

Answer 4

The U.S. Copyright Office has a website at copyright.gov.......the laws vary based on different things, but the website will help you