if i haven't registered my music, and someone else does without my permission, what are my rights.

I worked with a minor a few years back doing an artist development project. the parents paid me to relocate and work with the artist. I used works i had previously created and created new works that she appears on. I never offered up my right to ownership written or otherwise.
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Answers (3)

Oscar Michelen

Oscar Michelen

Contributor Level 7
There are all kinds of issues when dealing with minors, including that without State Supreme Court approval contracts may not be enforceable. What the status of your intellectual property may be is not easily answered in this type of forum. Generally, you don't have to cpoyright a work with the copyright offcie to have copyriht in the material. Physically registering it just allows you to prove when you created the work and allows you to file a Federal lawsuit to enforce your rights. It also allows you to seek "statutory damages" and maybe even recover attorney's fees and costs. To protect yourself, and to the extent it would be permitted by law, you may want ot now begin registering those works. You should sit down in a consultation with an attorney in your area to discuss. You can email me at omichelen@sbmlegal.com or call my office at 1-800-640-2000 to schedule an appointment
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Craig Andrew Redinger

Craig Andrew Redinger

Contributor Level 3
The following is intended to be instructive in nature, and does not constitute legal advice.

You acquired a copyright, as a matter of law, when you created your work. Unless you granted rights to your client in your contract with them, their use of your material will likely be copyright infringement.

A copyright registration, by itself, does not necessarily violate your rights. However, depending on the facts in play, their copyright registration may be invalid for failing to acknowledge the pre-existing material that you created, or it may be invalid as an unauthorized derivative work.

In any case, you should consult an attorney to review the applicable contract and the other circumstances of your case.
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Laura Mcfarland-Taylor

Laura Mcfarland-Taylor

Contributor Level 8
You need a lawyer - there are too few facts to give you any real advice.
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