For recordings, copyright is created at the same time as you make the recording.

For things like mixes and remixes (and any rapping over the top) you need to have your work in “material form” for it to be protected. This means, for example, that you need to write out or type up your material, or record it in some way (for example, onto tape, film or CDR, or into a device like an iPod). This also means that what you create during a jam session, or as a live mix or freestyle rap, won’t be protected until or unless you record it in some way.

However, once your work is in “material form”, it is protected by copyright. This protection is automatic and free; there is no registration system in Australia that you have to follow to protect your material by copyright.

If you’re worried about other people claiming they have created something that you created, record your material and keep any drafts.

(Again, we are referring here to mixes or remixes created by those DJs who are essentially composing new pieces of music through mixing recorded sounds, sometimes together with scratches, raps or other additional elements.)