Thousands of copyright infringement lawsuits are filed every year related to allegations of copying music or lyrics. To win a music copyright infringement case, the person filing the case must prove some sort of actual copying. In legal terms, the plaintiff must show “substantial similarity” between the plaintiff’s alleged original and the alleged copy. One […]
Signing up with one of the available performance rights organizations may help you in getting closer to benefiting income from your ownership in your copyrighted music. benefits of your copyrighted music. Under the Copyright Act — 17 USC § 101 et seq. — as long as a musician retains ownership of the copyright to his
What are Music Performance Rights Organizations? Read More »
In today’s world, outsourcing is a common practice many entrepreneurs and businesses are doing. However, when a person or company outsources, many legal issues are involved. Specifically, these issues arise from the ownership of outsourced work and the intellectual property that is created in outsourcing the work.
Because of this confusion, many people who outsource work are now using work for hire agreements, or specifically including a work for hire clause in the employment agreement or independent contractor agreement they are requiring be signed before they start the work.
Ownership of Outsourced Work and Why You Should Have a Work For Hire Agreement Read More »
Receiving a sternly worded letter from a law firm on behalf of another person or company ordering you to stop doing something can be stressful, especially if you are not familiar with “cease and desist” letters. Although they can be unsettling, cease and desist letters are fairly common.
Cease and Desist Letters: What Are They, and What Should You Do? Read More »
The music industry is a lot different than how it was years ago. With the increasing power of social media, the independent revolution has flurished. More often than not, artists are self releasing their music and becoming celebrities over night. And while the rise of the independent world has a multitude of benefits for the
Four Ways to Legally Protect Yourself as a Music Artist Read More »
The “Happy Birthday” song, one of the most popular songs in history, has been in copyright for the past 80 years. Yesterday, that all ended. In a dramatic turn of events, Judge George H. King ruled that the copyright filed by the Clayton F. Summy Co. provided a copyright over the specific piano arrangements
