Quote:
Originally Posted by ryguy2010
Copyright and the Public Domain
Authors own the exclusive rights to their compositions. This is called a copyright, and the composition is protected for many years--even if the copyright is never registered with the copyright office. A composition is considered to be "intellectual property" The copyright may be sold, transferred, or inherited--but the copyright still endures. If any music or lyrics are still under copyright protection
* you CANNOT reproduce the music or lyrics
* you CANNOT distribute the music or lyrics either for free, for no profit, or for profit
* you CANNOT perform the music or lyrics in public
* you CANNOT play a recording of the music or lyrics in public--even if you own the CD
* you CANNOT make a derivative work or arrangement for public use in any form
Aren't her demos all copyright protected? Somebody should help me w/ all of this since I am clearly confused!
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Technically yes, they are copyright protected. However, the fact that you cannot distribute them is not entirely true. Stevie owns the copyright, so she would have to be the one to file suit, and since her demos are not released under any label, she would have to be the one to sue, not a label. Then she would have to prove damages. Given that the demos were distributed for free and credit is given to Stevie and most notably, Stevie handed out most of these demos for free, most courts would not find that to be illegal. However, anyone making profit off of her demos or distributing songs she makes money off of (released songs) would be illegal.