John,

I will give you some insight as a friend. I have been in Nashville for 20 years, had five major cuts, been through four or five publishing deals. No one here even files copyrights until something is released nationally. You cannot copyright a title or an idea and they have ALL been written before.

And in this age of rampant downloading, there is really no way to protect anything. It is one of the biggest arguments people have when they come to do this. The copyright office is funded by patents, songs, ideas, inventions, that never go anywhere, are never heard, and simply dissapear. So an enormous amount of money is simply wasted.

In history there have actually been 10 major copyright lawsuits. About four of those were won, the most famous, the George Harrison, "My Sweet Lord" case, where after 12 years and $600,000, George ended up owning the comapny that was suing. It was proved that his former Manager, Allen Klien, had coluded with the original writers of the "He's So Fine" song. So he lost and won.

I know that all of us think we have the most unique song that has never been done, but the truth is that almost all these things have been done. In Nashville we deal with around 2 million songs, written pitched, promoted, etc. a year. Writers are writing continually on their own ideas, and while their might be picking up of an idea, phrase,etc.most of it is unintentional.

So the majority of the lawsuits you hear about are not "won" but settled, by companies, to free up royalties. If you have a song that is being contested, all royalties are held. So until the litigation is settled, nothing can be paid. So when you are sitting on hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, you would rather pay a few thousand to be clear. Especially since it costs thousands in legal fees just to fight these things.

That has also become a very sore spot within the industry and why you get a continually, "not accepting unsolicited material" signs and why publishers, writers, pluggers, etc. will not accept CD's or listen to songs from anyone they don't know.

So you should get some advice from others then make your decision. I tell people to not worry about it, write a lot of songs and go forward. I never copywrite songs because it is simply a waste of time and money for me. Others might have another opinion. But the rule of thumb I have come to live by is that I can almost be guaranteed that any time I have ever done a workshop, seminar, or panel and the people have the copyright form attached, the song is NEVER worth stealing. We are all writing the exact same stuff. In Nashville it is the "twist on the tale" that makes the songs different. the song craft, the intriquing lines, the catchiness of melodies. That is what makes songs different.

In your case, the fact that they sent your CD back and told you it was damaged, means some one either viewed it or put it in a CD player, to know it was damaged. If it makes you feel better for your piece of mind, send another one. But expect another 6-8 months.

MAB