Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New York

Copyright for Video/DVD/Internet Broadcast

I record live events at a venue. The

venue announces that the event is

being recorded live to broadcast by

my company on my own website -

so all the artists performing at the

venue are aware of the recording

taking place. If I at some point

decide to use the recording for

commercial purposes (like selling a

DVD) can the artists come back to

me and demand a portion of the

proceeds I've made from the

recording or sale of DVD? Asking all

of them to sign a release form is

not feasible and impractical since

there are up to 20 artists

performing at each venue. Also who

owns the copyright on the

recording? The promoter that puts

up the show does not pay me for

my services. Can the promoter

claim that it's ''his'' show and he

should have a portion of the

proceeds as well?


Asked on 11/21/08, 11:13 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Kristen Browde Browde Law, P.C.

Re: Copyright for Video/DVD/Internet Broadcast

The issue is not what the venue announces, it's what rights have been obtained from the artists and the authors of the songs or other material which the artists perform.

There are several different copyrights at issue here, and without contractual arrangements granting license to use those rights, any further use, broadcast or sale of a recording may violate any or all of those rights.

Read more
Answered on 11/21/08, 12:37 pm


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