Legal Question in Entertainment Law in California

Re: Songwriter/Publisher contracts

Once your songs were put into a tangible form, the copyright took effect. If you have not signed any contract, then go ahead and plug your songs.

Re: Songwriter/Publisher contracts

While the fact that you don't have a contract is normally a bad thing, you can use it to your advantage here, because there is no contract that says you've given up your rights to the songs. Mechanical royalties go to both the writer and the publisher. While you may have allowed this person to do your publishing for this use of the songs, you're still the writer of the songs, and as such, money will be due to you. Also, by all indications, you have not given away exclusive publishing rights; that is, you are free to negotiate publishing agreements with others. So the answer is two-pronged: first, you have the right to demand your share of the royalties from the use of these songs; second, you don't have to retrieve all rights, because they're still yours. Finally, make sure you have agreements laid out in the future BEFOREHAND to prevent headaches. Hope this helps.

Re: Songwriter/Publisher contracts

If you wrote the songs, you own the copyright. There is no longer any requirement for registration or notices such as "Copr. 2001", etc. (However, if you ever go to court over material, you will need to file a registration.)

You should certainly feel free to market your songs elsewhere. In that regard, NOT having a contract works in your favor.

In this case, it sounds like this guy owes you money. Have you been paid for his use? Or the artist's use?

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