Re: [Harp-L] Plagairism

["Bob Laughlin" <rlaughlin@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"The material in this
post is offered for entertainment purposes only."

That's an escape clause I stipulate in every one of my posts,,or should,,

I know nothinnnggg,,,

Bob L

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Walter Joyce" <wtjoyce45@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 3:59 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] Plagairism


> I am an attorney who has done some copyright work, so I look at the issue
a
> little differently than an artist might.
>
> Whether the soloist on a recording is entitled to copyright protection
> depends on how he/she is hired for the recording session. If he/she is
hired
> under a "work for hire" contract then there is no copyright protection
> available, so long as he/she gets paid. Most session work is done in this
> fashion.
>
> (Although, I have heard that in Nashville if another artist even walks
into
> the studio while you are recording then songwriting credit is
automatically
> shared on that song. I can't confirm this, but my friends who have been in
> the industry for the last two decades shared that with me.)
>
> I mention the pay issue because last year the great soul singer Betty
Harris
> was sampled on a Christine Aguillera  song, and she sought royalties or a
> licensing fee. The producer of the original recording, I believe it was
Alan
> Touissant (sp?) claimed she had dome the recording as a work for hire. Ms.
> Harris countered that she was never paid under the contract, so the court
> set aside the work for hire status and ruled that she still held the
> copyright.
>
> As I understand it, Aguilerra's camp at that point offered her $100,000
for
> the sampling. Rumor is that as of yet she has not been paid.
>
> To actually prosecute for a copyright violation under the current statute
> you need to have registered the material with the copyright office before
> filing suit. The artist still has a "copy right" but in order to get into
> the courthouse you need to register.
>
> To collect your royalties you need to join a songwriters guild/union like
> ASCAP or BMI.
>
> Back to our soloist. If there is not a work for hire agreement in place
> under which the artists received compensation (or consideration,in
> legalese), the question of copyright remains open. Under the old
> paradigm/thinking before the current uncertainty hit the music industry,
the
> accepted wisdom was that the money in music was in the copyright through
the
> royalties it generated and the licensing fees that are generated when the
> work is used in other media. That was why the major labels required their
> artists to share the royalties with the label under a songwriting
agreement,
> usually the best an artist could get was 50% of the royalties generated.
>
> As Winslow pointed out, the most common solution is to share songwriting
> credit, and the copyright that goes with it if the soloist will not
perform
> under a work for hire contract.
>
> Bear in mind that any recording hypothetically creates 3 copyrights.
>
> One for the songwriter,  one for the producer/recording studio in the
> recording itself, called the mechanical  right, (usually the subject of a
> licensing fee) and performance copyrights for any musicians or singers
that
> performed on the recording and has not signed a work for hire agreement.
The
> mechanical licensing fees are distributed through the Harry Fox Agency in
> NYC, if I recall correctly.
>
> I'm curious why the original poster mentioned plagiarism, as I thought
that
> term only applied to written works, not performances.
>
> Perhaps if the soloist was not under a work for hire agreement and wrote a
> transcription then filed it with the copyright office he could prosecute
for
> violation, but that is a hypothetical I haven't thought about much or
> researched.
>
> If you are interested in reading on the topic I recommend Koch on Music
> Licensing. You can find it in any good law library or buy it. There is a
CD
> that comes with the book that contains all of the contract forms used by
the
> music industry. You can buy these (although maybe not the exact same
> contracts) in a number of places online, but Koch's work is the bible for
> lawyers working in the field.
>
> The copyright website offers guidance on which forms to use to register
your
> work and what you need to include with your filing.
>
> Sorry for the following disclaimer, but I'd be an idiot not to include
after
> all that I have written.
>
> This post is not legal advice and is written without research and may
> contain errors. It is not to be relied upon for making decisions in your
> artistic endeavors and the legal consequences thereof. If you have a
> copyright issue or are contemplating filing for copyright protection, you
> need to contact an attorney licensed in your state.  The material in this
> post is offered for entertainment purposes only.
>
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