Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois
Five years ago a fellow musician asked me to join a tribute band. We recorded covers of the material at my studio and used the recordings on our website to get gigs. After a year we could not stand the guitar player so the singer and I formed our own band. The guitar player continued to use our performances and images for over a year to get gigs. We decided to fight fire with fire and started using the same materials to get gigs and the guitar player served us with a cease and desist claiming copyright ownership of the material. Can you copyright the performance/recording of a song you did not write or have copyrights to?
2 Answers from Attorneys
An attorney will tell you, only the copyright owner can sue for infringement. The guitar player is claiming ownership. If you disagree and claim these rights, you must take legal steps to protect your interests. Consult with an intellectual property attorney in your area to discuss.
Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. - Mr. Franchise
Franchise Attorney
Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. - Mr. Franchise
Franchise Attorney
Unless there were Agreements signed by the band members to otherwise determine the copyright ownership to the recorded music, the band members all have equal rights to utilize the recorded music as joint-copyright owners.
Consult an experienced Intellectual Property attorney to review and respond to any cease and desist notice received from a co-owner of copyrights in recorded music.
COMMENTS MADE HEREIN ARE NEITHER LEGAL OPINION NOR DO THEY ESTABLISH AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP.
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