On Oct 28, 6:59 pm, BlackMonk <
BlackM...@msn.com> wrote:
>
> Are you sure about that? If I'm writing a history of Wings and I call
> it "Band On The Run," it's no less of quote than yours was. Most titles
> are also lyrics unless we're talking Mike Nesmith.
In August 1981, my publisher(then called Pierian Press, and later
changed to Popular Culture Ink) had me write to Joan Schulman, the
Copyright Manager of Beechwood Music Corporation/Glenwood Music
Corporation asking permission to use the lyric, "As I Write This
Letter" from the song, "P.S. I Love You" for the title of my book. He
asked me to do this based on his previous experience that lyrics used
as book titles required permission due to copyright laws. He told me
that song titles do not require the same permission.
Schulman wrote back to me that they would be agreeable to the usage
for a "maximum printing of 10,000 copies of yout book to be sold at no
more than $25.00 per copy, for a fee of $50.00." Then asked me to
advise her if this was agreeable. If so, she said she would "provide
you with the correct copyright acknowledgement which must be used with
these lyrics."
I wrote back that the arrangement was fine, and she replied in a
subsequent letter thanking me for my letter and the enclosed check for
$50.00. Adding this:
"The following is the correct copyright acknowledgement to be used
with the lyrics of the above song:
'Copyright (c) 1962,1963 by MPL COMMUNICATIONS LTD.
Assigned to and Copyrighted (c) 1963 by BEECHWOOD
MUSIC CORPORATION for the UNITED STATES and CANADA
Used by Permission All Rights
Reserved'
And so I did. The book was published in the spring of 1982.
Wow, I just realized that was almost 30 years ago. Pardon me, while I
slither away, and feel old.