Karaoke Forums

I truly hope that no-one find offense with anything I place in this article.  I am not a lawyer, just a music enthusiast who has done research trying to weed out illegitimate web entities out there in today's world.  Please make note that I would not be a member of THIS website if I had any reservations with them whatsoever, thus nothing in my articles are pointed towards Karaoke-Scene, Karaoke-Forum or Singer's Showcase.  I truly feel this is where we all should be if we have even an ounce of love for today's aspiring musician's.

Copyrights and Trademarks are extremely necessary to survive in today’s music/entertainment industry.  If you have created a song the first thing you should do prior to allowing anyone to review or submitting the song in a contest of any capacity is get the piece copyrighted.  

Copyrights
Company Name – Unless your company name is also trademarked as a BRAND, other companies can use phrases from your name within documentation for their published documentation.  Just because you have copyrighted a company name, doesn’t mean that noone in the world can use part of or your entire web site name without the www or .com in reference to anything they desire.

Music – Song Titles, Lyrics, and scores can be copyright protected.

Trademarks
Brands - for your company
Images - on your web site – ensure that these are truly YOUR images and modified only with image and effects tools that you truly have a registration for.

It’s really easy to get information on copyrighting materials, pitfalls of persons who have NOT copyrighted their music, and reasons you should.  Please note that most contests you enter claim rights to your music.  If going into the contest, you have your material copyrighted, then copyrights to that work is YOURS, not the contest’s.  If the contest decides that you are ineligible after finding out this information, nine times out of ten, feel fortunate that you didn’t compete in their competition.  

Feel leery of websites which post copyright information as follows at the bottom of their websites in small lettering.

Copyright 2005
My WebSite
All Rights Reserved

My Website may make references to
Another company’s Trademark
but is not affiliated with the other company’s trademark in any capacity.  References to Their Trademark are provided solely as an informative and entertaining resource. No copyright infringement is intended nor implied.

I recently discovered the above-mentioned information when I was doing research prior to entering a very intensive state-wide competition held here in the North.  The founder of the contest professed to be a millionaire with a legal team comparable to the best in the country.  Unfortunately for this person, the images used for her contest were literally ripped off of a major brand name and well known name at that.  If you see an image on another web site and use any portion of the color scheme, shape, lettering, effects, etc, ESPECIALLY when your product is similar in nature, be prepared for potential lawsuits.  Be inventive and create your own ideas.  As musicians, we should be creative entities, both in our verbiage and our ideals for pushing across ideas in image to our peers.

These are all just opinions but it's been my experience that all of these are important factors when compiling new music, and dealing with online entities in regards to anything of YOUR and not THEIRS.

I now open the floodgates for discussion.
)
~~Randy

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Hmm.  Hasn't been much discussion so far.  Guess I'll jump in.

Warning/disclaimer: I am a lawyer, but not an intellectual property lawyer, and I haven't practiced in anything resembling this area of the law, so don't take any of this as gospel and for God's sake do not take it as legal advice.

Copyrights, unlike, say, patents, can be given retroactive recognition by courts in the event of a dispute.  A natural "copyright" arises whenever an original work is produced.  Officially filing for a copyright on a work you've originated may be helpful, but you don't necessarily have to file to enforce your rights.  Example: Let's say I write a song.  I don't file for a copyright or anything.  I perform the song, or at least let other people read the lyrics and/or sheet music.  A year later somebody who heard my song records it and not only that but files for a copyright on the song.  I hear about all this when "their" song starts getting played on local radio and they start selling CDs out of their car trunk.

I can bring an action against them for copyright infringement, even though they filed for the copyright and I didn't.  My argument is that when I wrote the song, a copyright was created, which they then violated.  Now obviously I'm going to have the problem of proving that I wrote the song first, but the fact that they filed for a copyright does not, in itself, mean that they will win the case.   They may be able to make other arguments why I can't enforce the copyright, however.

Isn't this fun?  Wait until we get to the Rule Against Perpetuities.

The situation KC discusses regarding the contest is one where I might lose my right to enforce my copyright (and possibly even transfer the copyright) by making a contractual agreement with the people running the contest.  As noted, I haven't practiced in that area but I imagine those types of cases get really sticky.  My advice in such situations (where original work is involved) would be to talk to a lawyer who really knows how all this stuff works as opposed to someone like me who is just talking out of his (@$%&#!) (it's what we do).

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Reward: nine yen in drawer.

Hey ya know, I talk out of that too... I just don't get paid for it!! !LOL

Good discussion.  I'm as knowledgable as a plumb, but I'm cautious all the same.  Just because someone says they are a recording company, it don't make it so.  On the internet you can't even watch their eyes while they shovel their , er, trash at you.  Anyone can get a business name... pay the clerk and you have a DBA.

A generic note is, this is the Internet.  Just because you read something on the Internet, it don't make it so.  Any research I do, I try to have several sources, they may even all be on the Internet, but not linked to each other.

I can create a web site that tells you that black is white, and then I can link to Randy, who can tell you black is white too, that don't make it so, does it?  (It's getting where you can't really trust what you're hearing on the news til it's been the same for a couple of days even.)

To spend $7 (including shipping) on a part, I still check out the company I'm buying from.  Because that's my credit card, and well, once they have the number .... anything could happen.   You should be JUST as cautious when dealing with people purporting to be in the position to "take you to the top".

I can "take you to the top" of this here soap box.  What's that a foot?  So now, I gonna step down, with Hammy whining in my ear that I talk too much, and give the floor to.................... well... someone else

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Teri Jo
...May the road rise to meet you... just, not too quickly, and not too hard!