If a person was in your group, but got kicked out can he get copyrights to a group song that he wasnt on?

"Copyright" is a bundle of rights that apply to "original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression." "Authors" hold the copyright to their work. Copyright comes into being automatically when someone creates an original work of authorship and fixes it in a tangible medium of expression. I assume the song exists in some tangible medium, like musical notation or a sound recording.

If the guy who got kicked out didn't write the song, he doesn't own any part of the copyright to the song. Lots of people can "cover" a song and they have to pay royalties to the person who wrote it.

If the tangible medium of expression is, not a chart setting out the musical structure of the song, but instead a sound recording, and this guy's on that sound recording, he owns jointly with the other participants a copyright in that sound recording. The copyright in the sound recording is distinct from the copyright in the song itself.

Good luck. I'm not licensed to practice law in Georgia so the foregoing should not be taken as legal advice, but simply as information based on general principles of law which is intended to educate. If you need legal advice, please consult a lawyer who holds Georgia licensure.

The below does not constitute legal advice, does not form an attorney-client relationship, and should not be relied upon to take or refrain from taking any action.

See http://tr.im/lAA5 for a answer given to a very similar question.

If you mean, is a former band member a co-writer of a song that person didn't actually co-write and can he list himself (or his publisher, who is the party who actually owners song copyrights) as a copyright owner of that song, no, he can't, since the actual writers of the song would all agree that this person didn't co-write the song. This answer would be diffferent if for example, there was a band partnership contract that said that all band members in the band at the time of recording of an album share equally in the song copyrights, and if this song in question was on that album.

If you mean, is a former band member a co-owner of a song that person didn't perform on as a vocalist or musician and can he list himself (or his publisher) as a copyright owner of that song, no, he can't, since the musical performers don't own copyrights, instead they're entitled to artist royalties. Not all performers write songs, and not all songwriters perform, they're separate talents - but performers don't get copyrights just for being performers. This answer would be diffferent if for example, there was a band partnership contract that said that all band members in the band at the time of recording of an album share equally in the song copyrights, and if this song in question was on that album.

If you mean, is a former band member a co-owner of a master sound recording that person didn't perform on and can he list himself as the sound frecording's copyright owner, no, generally copyrights in master sound recordings are owned by the record label. This answer would be different in your band financed the sound recording yourselves so the band's members colllectively own the recording and this person was in the band when the song was recorded.

Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.