Copyright follow-up

[graemeh]

Hi all,

Following our discussion recently about copyright infringement, legal rights etc., a Lawyer Mate of Ours who shall remain nameless (for legal reasons ;-)) has very kindly drafted a contract covering payment, lien, copyright infringement and limitation of liability for studio owners, mastering folks and the like.

As the going rate for showbiz/entertainment lawyers is, according to Shane Simpson's "Music Business", between $350 and $550 per hour plus GST I'd say he's doing us all an enormous favour (but are they happy? I'd reckon!)

So, from me (and presumably all of us), a huge Thank You to Our Lawyer Mate!!!

Any correspondence may or may not be entered into - here 'tis:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We, the undersigned (

[rick]

wow, you got this for free and you shared it with us all...?

true trm forum spirit being shown here howabout somebody send him something to drink

[mfdu]

hey graemeh

anytime you're near spotswood, there's a nice glass of single malt or two for you!!!!

chris
mfdu

[Chris H]

Thanks a mint graemeh. Let me know what Melbourne pub you frequent and i"ll shout a few rounds.

[chris p]

How about -

(1) You gonna pay me when I bill ya.

(2) Until I'm paid, I keep all the stuff and you can't do nuffin with any of the stuff I do. No airplay 'til I'm paid, OK.

(3) All that music and stuff you give me, well you wrote it, you recorded it, or you got the OK of the person who did. And I mean in writing. Now. Not tomorrow or the next day.

(4) You lie to me about any of this, I get to sue your ass. I get sued because of you, you pay for the whole thing, including my lawyer and he charges like shit.

(5) If I mess up, I'll do it again for free, but that's it. Nothing more. And don't give me no BS about lost sales, neither.

(6) You don't get to sue me for nothing, period. I don't care if you tripped in my foyer, next time you watch your step.

You either agree to this right now or you get your sorry ass out the door. You want to consult your lawyer? Fine, but do it on your own time buddy. Like I've got time for you to make some calls.

[astrovic]

Love it. Sounds even better with a New Yorker accent.

[graemeh]

Aaargh - you guys!

It cost me nothing - I did nothing!

It's not me you should be thanking - he's not just MY Lawyer mate, he's OUR Lawyer mate nudge nudge wink wink who thinks it wise to remain anonymous and who may or may not be a forum member ;-)

However I'm happy to accept gold and cash on his behalf!

[JulienG]

anytime you're near spotswood, there's a nice glass of single malt or two for you!!!!

Makes me want to chase up they lawyer friends ;-)

Oh well, should have some *shiny* DIY soon (pats the Neumann capsule sitting next to me).

[Peter Knight]

That's very cool of you... anonymous lawyer man!

[Guest]

Thank you helpful lawyer

[astrovic]

The key to applying something like this is making sure it works for you. There's no "one size fits all" solution as everyone's situation is slightly different. If you're thinking of using this, read it line by line, word by word, and ask yourself whether it reflects what you do and the services you provide. If you have anything already that you get clients to sign or which forms part of the contract between you and your client (e.g your tax invoice), be very careful to make sure the documents are consistent.

The last thing you would want is to have to need to rely on these terms and find that they don't quite fit the services you provide to the client - that might make the terms useless for you.

I'm sure they're the thoughts that were going through "our lawyer friend's" mind when he chose to stay anonymous :)

[Andrew]

That is really generous of your mate. Thank You.