Copyright issue?

[kyral210]

Hi

so this guy was in the band, wrote song songs with and for the band then left. We recorded an album, put it out there, and now he is threatening to sue us. We have made no money, have always copyrighted him and agreed we would pay him 'royalties'. Before he left he was always fine those songs being used for the band.

Where does he stand on copyright and where do we stand?

 

[mcarp555]

It's not really a copyright issue, more of a publishing one. Since you seem to indicate that you identify him as the author, and do not dispute his copyright, that seems to be pretty cut and dried.

The real question is, do you have the right to use his copyrighted work with or without his permission. If his work was licensed through a publisher, and registered with an organization such as BMI, ASCAP, etc., then you might not be able to use his songs without his (or his publisher's) permission.

I'm guessing there's no written contract regarding payment of royalties, or any method of determining how much he should get. These are issues that should have been decided before doing the recordings, to protect both your side and his.

You should seek out legal opinion, and not listen to the 'advice' of anyone not versed in copyright or publishing matters (including me).

 

[kyral210]

Well, there are no contracts anywhere, and no songs or material are registered anywhere...

Frankly its pathetic as we have only played 2 gigs and expect ot make £0 out of it all.

 

[mcarp555]

Copyright is fixed, once the piece is completed. So even without registering the song(s), they are copyrighted by law. Since this sounds like a pretty small potatoes deal, his threat to 'sue' you is probably hollow.

You might want to find out if there's any way of placating him, and perhaps get something in writing everyone is happy with. But again, there's no substitute for valid legal opinion.

 

[MartinG1957]

But when you are megastars in a few years and your "early years" recordings are worth a few bob ... Good advice from mcarp555, take professional advice, not chances, it's worth it.