Vincent Morgan asked:

> One of the members of our Lady Liberty chapter of AMICA has composed
> a piano roll and is interested in having it copyrighted.  How does
> he go about doing that?

The U.S. Copyright Office has a web site at http://www.copyright.gov/ 
It says,

  "How to Secure a Copyright - Copyright Secured Automatically
  upon Creation"
  The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently
  misunderstood.  No publication or registration or other action
  in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright."

and

  "The use of a copyright notice is no longer required under U. S. law,
  although it is often beneficial."

The true question may be, "How does he register his copyright," or
"How can he defend his copyright?"

Details on the registration process are on the web site.  There is a
registration fee and paperwork to be completed.

In general, to defend the copyright you have to (1) identify the
infringing party and (2) sue them.  Yes, under some circumstances the
Federal Government will prosecute violators, but I think that really
only pertains to prosecution of interstate distribution of pirated
materials.

First, remember that no one can steal your stuff if you keep it locked
up at home.  If you distribute it widely, someone with the appropriate
technology will be able to produce copies, probably without being
detected.  In my opinion, the best defense on something like a
recording (including a piano roll) is to distribute copies so cheaply
and conveniently that stealing it isn't worth the effort involved.

It would be a very rare case in which one might prove that a piano roll
copier had cheated you out of more than the attorneys' fees involved in
prosecution of a civil law suit.

Wallace Venable