Music Copyright Question

[truth]

AZ

Hi,

About 10 months ago I reworked 10 tracks by a well known band, with their written permission. The music, contains their original tracks in their entirety, however, they have been enhanced and improved and virtually rewritten. I submitted the finished works to the US copyright office, and was granted copyright on the new pieces.

However, the band reneged on their side of the agreement, turned very nasty and threatened me. They have refused to grant clearance, however, I still have this copyright granted, and in it I declared who the band were and gave the full track details, the original copyright owners etc.

My question is, am I allowed to release this project without further clearance?

Thank you

PE

 

[The Occultist]

What does the written agreement you have state?

 

[truth]

What does the written agreement you have state?

Hi,

Thank you for your response.

I have publishing clearance from the band, 10 months of advertising on their website, a press release from the band that was distributed globally by them stating "we fully endorse this project", 250 emails pertaining to the project.

Its a bloody mess, and it has cost me dearly, they are so wealthy they don`t think I can take them on (we`re talking about one of the top 10 selling bands of all time)

Thank you so much for responding.

 

[shortbus]

The audio recording and the musical composition are two distinct copyrighted works. Typically, the band owns the copyright in the composition and the record label owns the copyright in the audio.

As for the band, you have a breach of contract claim.

As for your copyright, you only have copyright as a derivative work, meaning your copyright only extends to your personal contribution. That is independent of their copyright in the base work. So, you don't get the right to distribute their work even though you got a copyright on your own work.

If you haven't dealt with the record label at all, you may have missed an important step.

 

[truth]

The audio recording and the musical composition are two distinct copyrighted works. Typically, the band owns the copyright in the composition and the record label owns the copyright in the audio.

As for the band, you have a breach of contract claim.

As for your copyright, you only have copyright as a derivative work, meaning your copyright only extends to your personal contribution. That is independent of their copyright in the base work. So, you don't get the right to distribute their work even though you got a copyright on your own work.

If you haven't dealt with the record label at all, you may have missed an important step.

Hi,

Thank you for your response.

I dealt directly with Warner, they were happy to clear the release until the band reneged. There is more, I threatened to go public with all my emails and screenshots, a fraudulent complaint was made to the FBI stating that I had attempted to send viruses to their message board (a physical impossibility) and had attempted to hack their website (already disproven in writing by their webmaster). Based on the complaint, the FBI warned me that if I attempted to go public, I would be investigated and prosecuted for extortion and blackmail.

Since then, various music people have approached me and told me that my name and reputation was being slandered in music industry circles. My performance work has dried up, my label lost its distribution deal and each of the respective band members have allowed total character assination on their respective websites.

In December, my design company found out that a logo we had submitted had been used on a global tour for 2 members of the band, we have never been renumerated despie the fact that the logo was copyrighted.

The music project was projected to sell 5,000,000 units globally, had the backing of an award winning grammy producer, it took 10 months of solid work to complete. A launch show was arranged, it was highly publicised, at the last minute, the band members who were scheduled to appear, cancelled, more damage and grief.

The respective band members are worth approx 350,000,000 they have sold over 75 million records, have been the subject of a huge movie, I have had my file looked at by an NYC attorney, who stated my case was "devestatingly strong". If anyone reading this feels that they would be prepared to look at taking the case on contingency, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank however, for your advice to date.

 

[shortbus]

If your case is that strong, you should have no problem walking into an excellent entertainment litigation firm in LA or NYC and getting them to take the case. Why you would be posting on this board looking for legal help is mysterious.

 

[truth]

If your case is that strong, you should have no problem walking into an excellent entertainment litigation firm in LA or NYC and getting them to take the case. Why you would be posting on this board looking for legal help is mysterious.

I am looking for advice and maybe a recommendation as to a good law firm who would be prepared to look at this.

Thanks

 

[spmlawyer]

Find a lawyer

There are excellent websites where you can find the right attorney who may take your case on a contingency if it is strong enough. You can use this website or findlaw.com or others. You can also contact the state bar associations in Arizona and ask for names of Intellectual Property litigators. If the band operates out of NY or LA, you can try those bar associations too. When you have some propsects check their websites for cases they've handled and then start calling. I'm sure you'll find suitable representation.