gargoyle, i think the important thing is making public of my authorship of a song, with a recorded time and date, would establish my ownership as well as written, registered, even notarized publication or release on record, tape, or cd. To test that theory, I posted a song right after first posting to this thread. It's on a thread called "Movement Songs," and while I am claiming ownership, I am giving full rights for performance but not for publication or recording without payment of royalties, unless the publication or recording is to benefit the victims of the US sanctions against Iraq. My extensive legal experience, gained from reading Grisham, Tannenbaum, Turow, et al, convinces me that the law is on my side.