CompuServe Messages

Bruce, Your friend does not necessarily have to do anything formal to preserve a copyright on his music, but it's always a good idea to put a copyright notice on any score, demo tape label, etc., so that you will be able to prove willful infringement (which allows recovery of enhanced damages under the Copyright Act). Registration is not required to have copyright protection, but it _is_ required if you intend to bring an infringement action. Registration is not a very difficult or time consuming process. As for parodies, the U.S. Supreme Court recently decided a case concerning a parody of Roy Orbison's "Oh Pretty Woman" by (I think) 2 Live Crew entitled "Big Hairy Woman." Parodies are entitled to some protection as "fair use," the same way that reviews and comments on a copyrighted work are protected. The principle criterion seems to be whether the parody will affect the market for the original work, that is, will it tend to reduce sales of the original item. As with all fair use issues, the result turns on the specific facts of each case. It sounds like you have an interesting project. Good luck. Darron