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Copyright?? Kicking a band member out?? Help??

#61
Depends on how mad he is and how much he wanted to spend. Honestly the cost just to file the action and having to hire a lawyer would probably run him anywhere from $500-$5000 depending on the state and if he had a lawyer friend willing to waste their time.

He could ask for an injunction that you don't play the songs and then they be taken down from any platform you have them on or he could ask for a portion of the money you're making not sure which way he would go. Wouldn't think this would succeed but you never know how a court might rule or what weird ruling a judge might make. (this is not legal advice, please do not take anything I have said as legal advice and seek a lawyer in your specific area for legal advice)
 
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#63
I'm sorry if this was covered in the three plus pages so far, but one thing you should worry about is him being clever and trademarking your name.

I knew a guy who was ousted from the band he started, so he filed for the trademark on the name and they had to pick a new name. Those two things: kicking out the business-minded member and him stealing their name killed all of the momentum they had built up and basically ruined their career. They wouldn't have gotten famous, but they would have done some big things in our area.
 
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#65
Hounddog409 said:
May have to stop doing it? In what universe?

All that needs to be done is to ignore the wind bag.

There is nothing to see here. Ignore and move on.
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We only know half the story and am not a lawyer as I stated. If this guy pulls a lucky rabbit out of his hat (old demo or something), there could be grounds for stopping any recording of said songs. Again... Not a lawyer.

The big takeaway was what you suggested... Let them get a lawyer and worry about it then. Cuz until then, he's just a windbag as you say.
 
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#66
I love this "We are local band and get paid pretty well"


Like what? $2000 a week? Playing originals now....do you? So, $100k between say 4 of you? $25k a year from "Playing local"

Woo-effing-hoo.

And this guitar player wants to hire an attorney to sue for the rights to stop you playing the songs? What an idiot. Why didn't you throw this mean stupid jack@$$ out a long time ago????

And on top - you have 3 other guys who will all say "We collaborated on the songs" in court. Not that you'll get there. Of course, maybe an attorney will be glad to take his $25k from last year and then he'll understand.

Probably won't stop until he has a lien on his house from legal fees.
 
#67
gln1955 said:
Song copyright is based on lyrics or melody over a chord progression. A rhythm guitar part, bass line or drum part is the arrangement and generally not subject to copyright. What did he contribute to the songs? Technically, copyright exists as soon as something is written down. It does not have to be registered.

As for the recordings, was there a written agreement on royalties?
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This is how I understand it too.
 
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#68
DirtDog said:
Rewrite those songs. Change the key, rework the harmony and change some words. Done.

but the worst he could do is pay some ambulance chaser a few hundred bucks to write a cease and desist letter that you can effectively ignore.
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See....here is where angry stupid b!tch factor plays in....

If he gets that letter, he goes to every venue and shows the owners. They do not want the hassle and your gig is cancelled. How is ignore it working for you now?

Yeah - he is slitting his own throat too - but until he is dead/gone/forgotten...
 
#70
Aceman said:
See....here is where angry stupid b!tch factor plays in....

If he gets that letter, he goes to every venue and shows the owners. They do not want the hassle and your gig is cancelled. How is ignore it working for you now?

Yeah - he is slitting his own throat too - but until he is dead/gone/forgotten...
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I see what you're saying. Another perspective is the venue booker sees zero risk here. Only more work to book a band, maybe cancel a contract and possibly change advertising. Instead, they thank the potential litigant for wasting their time and tell him to GTFO.
 
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#71
I am not a lawyer. I don't pretend this is legal advice.

Also....the odds he will follow through on the threat are astronomically low. Hiring a lawyer means paying for a professionals wages and their overheads. Which means that unless you band is U2, it's gonna cost him more than it will ever earn him.

Ethically, you know better than I it's ok.
 
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#75
I love these threads about legal issues. There is so much misinformation in these replies that I would caution everyone to hold their horses unless they know what they are talking about.

The only responses that I would advise the OP to read would be:
#55 from @andrus108
Copyright?? Kicking a band member out?? Help??

and #60 from @hrodbert696
Copyright?? Kicking a band member out?? Help??

They pretty much summed up the accuracy of copyright as it pertains to the OP.

Another thing people should always remember is "Follow the Money". Lawsuits rarely get filed unless substantial monetary loss can be shown. Someone's hurt ego is not going to cut it.

To OP: Read those two posts and rock on!
 
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#76
I do have a disagreement with #60 post's saying:
"Performance or recording of a song requires the consent of the owner of the song, normally its original creator unless there's a contract indicating otherwise. If the OP's ex-bandmate had solely written the songs, then he does indeed have the legal right to deny the others permission to play them."

In the case of playing something already released, there's the concept of "compulsory licensing", but the user does (theoretically, anyway) have to pay ...

But, IANAIAAL.
 
#79
Aceman said:
See....here is where angry stupid b!tch factor plays in....

If he gets that letter, he goes to every venue and shows the owners. They do not want the hassle and your gig is cancelled. How is ignore it working for you now?

Yeah - he is slitting his own throat too - but until he is dead/gone/forgotten...
Click to expand...

Lol. No bar owner is going to cancel because some douche bag shows him a letter he wrote.
 

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