Legality of using pictures and video

Clearly he is in breach of copyright as you have not given him permission to use your band's vid to deceptively promote his band.

 

If you spend thousands of dollars in legal fees, what do you hope to get?

The best thing you can do with your mental energy is move forward.

 

Put copies of your vids back up, and if he brings up the legal aspect, reply you will remove yours when he removes his. it's simple.. if he can threaten legal action, so can you.. for exactly the same reasons..

"If you plan to use a person's image for commercial purposes, you need to get a signed video release form from that individual."

The videos are copyright of the person that took them, not the people in them, tho one should generally get release forms signed by those in them.. if they are promo material, or staged etc.
See here for details..
http://www.webvideozone.com/public/88.cfm

 

Wait, he wants you to remove images and video that include him, yet he uses the same videos that include images of you and some of your band-members and he dares to threaten a lawsuit? Really? Is this dude a frikkin' idiot?? Go ahead and keep the images and videos up on your website. If he sues, you can counter sue and I bet the judge will dismiss the case. And he'll be liable for all court costs.

I experienced something similar. A band I was in, we had a female vocalist which we later fired. She started her own band and used a handful of the demos our band recorded on her website. We didn't threaten lawsuit but we thought it was dishonest and distasteful especially since her band wasn't nearly good enough to recreate what we did on the demo. I left a band a few years ago and I asked the BL to remove all pics of me. He took his sweet time. I did threaten a lawsuit if he didn't take them down but he eventually did except one but I'm literally blocked so you can't see me. I'm cool with it.

As for pics and video, just have a friend come by one of your gigs and take a few shots and maybe setup a vidcam and record a few tunes. Hell, my Samsung Note 3 takes HD video.

 

Is he or isn't he?

Either way I'd put everything back up until you actually hear from his attorney, which will be never. People threaten to sue all the time. It takes time and money to sue someone, and when you look at the chances of winning and the likely monetary award, it's rarely worth it.

 

I don't know, but there is a difference between knowing and assuming. You could go to his web site, his Facebook page, ask someone else who plays with him, etc., etc., etc.

Also, he didn't MAKE you do anything. He made a request and you honored it. You could have said no.

 

Not speaking from a LEGAL aspect, but I wouldn't be concerned. If someone is a member of a band, and leaves that band, pictures of him go with the band itself. I highly doubt Slash would have a case if he wanted Axel to take down his pictures from the GnR website.

Same thing. If the band and music is yours and he was in it when it was recorded, the video is of the BAND. He was in it at the time, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Maybe. But I wouldn't care or worry about it until I got an actual letter from a lawyer, then I'd call that lawyer to make sure it was legit. The guy is blowing smoke and sounds like an entitled idiot.

Way too much mental anguish has been spent on legal BS when there is nothing involved. The bottom line is at your level there is nothing to sue for. To sue someone, you must show damages. There is no revenue from the videos, nobody's reputation has been damaged, so there's no libel, I highly doubt he's in the Witness Protection Program... Screw him and use it. Replace the pics and video when you get more.

 

It's good that you plan to discuss the issue with an actual lawyer. Threads like this tend to generate responses that are at best incomplete and at worst flat-out wrong. Talk with your lawyer about your specific situation and he or she will be able to give you the information you need.

If you want to do some reading in the meantime, this is a decent overview of some of the legal principles associated with the right to use a person's likeness and when a subject's consent is necessary: http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/using-name-or-likeness-another

 

I'm going with the common TB answer: "Fire the drummer and/or singer immediately."

 

Bottom line for me is..............if he is using the same videos for his benefit, then you don't need to take them down. Can't have your cake and eat it too!

I'm quite sure the videos I did with my old band, are being used to aide in booking. I don't care. I'm the one who videotaped them. I use them for my own auditions and such. I didn't want my photos on the website as I am no longer in the band and I don't represent the band so why have my pics there.

 

Can't say I'd agree. Definitely read up if you're interested. But if there are no monetary damages to seek—and your nettlesome former bandmate doesn't wield both a giant bankroll and a giant grudge—then the legal side of this is both theoretical and beside the point. Accordingly, pay to consult a lawyer here only if you're deeply interested (on an academic level) in how the applicable laws are read in your courts, and if you have money to burn to find those answers.

The legal system in these kinds of cases isn't about delivering justice (what's right, what's wrong). It's about delivering legal judgments, driven by money. If there's no money involved, the "wheels of justice" won't be turning.

 

And then rage quit, of course.

 

If he wants accurate information specific to his situation, it is better to consult a lawyer than this forum, because with a few relatively rare exceptions (e.g., @Music Attorney), the answers provided are frequently inaccurate. An attorney can also set him up with contact and/or release forms that he can use to reduce the risk -- however slight -- of litigation in the future.

If he wants to avoid the expense of an attorney and educate himself to satisfy an academic curiosity that is an option too, and the link I provided is a good starting point.

 

Agreed about all that, but your first conditional phrase is the key: "if he wants accurate [legal] information specific to his situation..." My point is that if he wants that legal info (and wants to pay for it), it's to satisfy his curiosity rather than to satisfy a legal need. There's legal need only if the OP's case becomes a matter for the courts; and absent any compelling damages, it won't become a matter for the courts unless his former bandmate has enough disposable cash and a big enough grudge to bring suit against the OP for his own entertainment.

That is to say, unless the bandmate is fond of nuisance suits, there's no compelling reason for the OP to pay real money for legal advice here.