Songwriter Tip:

Copyright laws change regularly and vary from country to country. It used to be that you (or your heirs) owned a copyright for 50 years from the moment it was written, then it fell into public domain. Later some governments offered the possibility of one copyright renewal that had to be registered (by yourself or your heir) before the end of those 50 years. The renewal was valid for another 50 years from the date of renewal. Now most countries have made them un-renewable, but have augmented the validity of a copyright to 75 or even 100 years. Check with your own country’s laws on the subject and be aware that this can change again over time.