Copyright Law: WHY YOU CAN’T “COPYRIGHT” YOUR SONG IF YOU HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN IT! So, you have written a song or recorded an album. Should you be worried about copyright infringement? Should you send a copy to yourself so that you can prove that you wrote the song. Or should you “copyright” your song or album? In my practice, I get these questions quite often. When asked by a client if they should copyright their song, my direct response is, “you already have”. . Full Article> | Music Business Law: TAKIN’ CARE OF BUSINESS:
A Band's Basic Business Guide So you’re in a band, and you think you’ve got it together? If so, you should have no problem answering these questions: 1. Who owns the band’s songs? 2. What about the band’s name—who owns it? 3. If two people wrote most of the songs, do they own those songs to the exclusion of the others . . . . Full Article> |
FAQing TM's Everything You Need to Know about Trademark Protection and Registration In my experience, trademark protection and enforcement is one of the most often neglected areas by small business owners and management. Unfortunately, failure to take some simple steps can be a crucial mistake and can have devastating consequences to a business of any size. I have seen too many situations where a terrorizing attorney has sent the ever- feared “cease and desist” letter to the unsuspecting business. These businesses are then faced with a “catch 22” decision: either 1) change their name or product mark after investing substantial funds over time building goodwill in a mark; or 2) litigate the issues of trademark rights at a substantial cost and with no guarantee of successful results . . . Full Article> Shorter Summary Article> | Will You Face The Music? Music Downloading 101 Q: Is Downloading Music from the Internet Illegal? A: Generally, yes under copyright law. The United States Copyright Act states that copyright protection applies to sound recordings. The act states that infringement occurs when another party exercises the rights that have been exclusively granted to the copyright owner by the law. The right to distribute the sound recordings (e.g. in the form of compact discs or digital audio transmission over the Internet) is a right given only to the copyright holder of the sound recordings, which is usually the record label who invested in the production of the sound recording. On the other hand, in some situations it may be legal . . . Full Article> |
