Multiple people have copyrights of the SAME EXACT sound? I'm in trouble, help

[7digitsfuture]

Hi, 3 months ago i got an email saying i had to remove a 1.5 second sound from my app as it was copyrighted. Since i didn't know such a small and random sound could be copyrighted i apologized and remove the sound from my app immediatly. The end. Now... when i thought it was over... 3 MONTHS LATER, i get an email from Apple saying that i infringe someone's copyright by using the same sound in my app (The one i removed 3 months ago). Keep in mind those are 2 different people. The first one was a young man from the US. The second is a ringtone company from Germany... So i tell them that i removed that sound MONTHS AGO right when someone told me to remove it. And now, they want to get paid. They keep asking me to show them how much money i made with that app so they can take a cut. My question is: How come 2 different people can have the copyright to 1 sound... how does that makes sense? I got a warning, i removed the sound and now 3 months later i'm supposed to pay someone from Germany who claims they have the copyright TOO? Can someone please explain what i should do? And please no rude comment, i'm 19, i didn't know about copyrights and how it could be so strict. I'm just looking for advices. thanks.

 

[Silverplum]

Hi, 3 months ago i got an email saying i had to remove a 1.5 second sound from my app as it was copyrighted. Since i didn't know such a small and random sound could be copyrighted i apologized and remove the sound from my app immediatly. The end. Now... when i thought it was over... 3 MONTHS LATER, i get an email from Apple saying that i infringe someone's copyright by using the same sound in my app (The one i removed 3 months ago). Keep in mind those are 2 different people. The first one was a young man from the US. The second is a ringtone company from Germany... So i tell them that i removed that sound MONTHS AGO right when someone told me to remove it. And now, they want to get paid. They keep asking me to show them how much money i made with that app so they can take a cut. My question is: How come 2 different people can have the copyright to 1 sound... how does that makes sense? I got a warning, i removed the sound and now 3 months later i'm supposed to pay someone from Germany who claims they have the copyright TOO? Can someone please explain what i should do? And please no rude comment, i'm 19, i didn't know about copyrights and how it could be so strict. I'm just looking for advices. thanks.

Sorry, this site deals in US law only. Since you did not provide the name of your US State, as required, we cannot help you.

 

[quincy]

Hi, 3 months ago i got an email saying i had to remove a 1.5 second sound from my app as it was copyrighted. Since i didn't know such a small and random sound could be copyrighted i apologized and remove the sound from my app immediatly. The end. Now... when i thought it was over... 3 MONTHS LATER, i get an email from Apple saying that i infringe someone's copyright by using the same sound in my app (The one i removed 3 months ago). Keep in mind those are 2 different people. The first one was a young man from the US. The second is a ringtone company from Germany... So i tell them that i removed that sound MONTHS AGO right when someone told me to remove it. And now, they want to get paid. They keep asking me to show them how much money i made with that app so they can take a cut. My question is: How come 2 different people can have the copyright to 1 sound... how does that makes sense? I got a warning, i removed the sound and now 3 months later i'm supposed to pay someone from Germany who claims they have the copyright TOO? Can someone please explain what i should do? And please no rude comment, i'm 19, i didn't know about copyrights and how it could be so strict. I'm just looking for advices. thanks.

Silverplum is right. Copyright laws vary from country to country so, not knowing where you are located, we can not advise you properly.

That said, the infringement notices you received by email do not sound legitimate - although compensation can be due a copyright holder even when infringed material is removed. The removal of the infringed material does not eliminate the harm that could have come from the original infringement.

I suggest that, whatever part of the world you are in, do not send money without consulting with an attorney first.

 

[7digitsfuture]

Silverplum is right. Copyright laws vary from country to country so, not knowing where you are located, we can not advise you properly.

That said, the infringement notices you received by email do not sound legitimate - although compensation can be due a copyright holder even when infringed material is removed. The removal of the infringed material does not eliminate the harm that could have come from the original infringement.

I suggest that, whatever part of the world you are in, do not send money without consulting with an attorney first.

I'm in Canada and i figured the law would be pretty much the same. I have another question for you, let's say i had 50 sounds in my app. Does that mean i have to give him 1/50 of the money i made? Since it's only one sound out of 50 that is copyrighted. Who decides how much money they get?

 

[FlyingRon]

What part of US LAW only do you not understand?

 

[Zigner]

I'm in Canada and i figured the law would be pretty much the same. I have another question for you, let's say i had 50 sounds in my app. Does that mean i have to give him 1/50 of the money i made? Since it's only one sound out of 50 that is copyrighted. Who decides how much money they get?

Consult with local legal counsel.

 

[Silverplum]

I'm in Canada and i figured the law would be pretty much the same. I have another question for you, let's say i had 50 sounds in my app. Does that mean i have to give him 1/50 of the money i made? Since it's only one sound out of 50 that is copyrighted. Who decides how much money they get?

If you can't figure out the difference between COUNTRIES, you have more problems than copyright issues.

 

[quincy]

I'm in Canada and i figured the law would be pretty much the same. I have another question for you, let's say i had 50 sounds in my app. Does that mean i have to give him 1/50 of the money i made? Since it's only one sound out of 50 that is copyrighted. Who decides how much money they get?

We do not handle Canadian laws, as you have no doubt gathered by the postings here.

That said, copyright laws have some similarities throughout the world and one similarity is that the amount of copyrighted material infringed plays only one factor among many when determining if a work has been infringed.

How much is too much is hard to determine in advance. One line out of a novel may not be infringing, whereas one line out of a short poem can be. Greater consideration can be given exactly WHAT has been infringed and, if the amount taken is an integral part of the whole, that matters more than the amount taken.

In the US, if a copyrighted work is registered, there are statutory damages available to the copyright holder (from $750 to $30,000 per infringed work). The US Copyright Act can be accessed here: http://www.copyright.gov

If you are in Canada, you will be sued for infringement in Canada under Canada's copyright laws. For information on Canada's Copyright Act, here is a link: http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-c-42/latest/rsc-1985-c-c-42.html