a tv show wants to film my band playing a gig however their contract states they will have rights to my music (filmed) if they film us...how can I protect my music?
Hi - my name is XXXXX XXXXX X'm an Intellectual Property litigation attorney here to assist you.
You need to see if the rights extend ONLY to the filming of the music in this particular instance or if the tv show is asking that you give it exclusive rights to your music (lyrics, etc.) in any medium or form.
My suspicion is that the tv show only wants exclusive rights to this particular session. In that case, you should consider asking the tv show to edit the agreement to state that you're giving it a license for exclusive use of this session. That would limit its rights and protect your music.
Thanks so much Kirk. Just to clarify and expand on this:1) how should the legal language be phrased to protect my rights?2) if I limit them to this session only, does it mean they can only broadcast/use the actual film of this session but their rights would not extend to the actual content? Meaning they won't be allowed rights to the lyrics/music/etc but only to the filmed session like a video clip?Thanks again!
1) how should the legal language be phrased to protect my rights?
There's no specific or particular language to use. You just want to use a phrase that says that you're providing the tv show a non-exclusive license to record and air this particular session and that the rights to the material (sound and video) are only limited to this single event. You just want to make sure that the agreement plainly says that you're not prohibited from using a copy of the video yourself and also that the tv show is not acquiring ownership rights to your music. 2) if I limit them to this session only, does it mean they can only broadcast/use the actual film of this session but their rights would not extend to the actual content? Meaning they won't be allowed rights to the lyrics/music/etc but only to the filmed session like a video clip?
No, the tv show would be able to use the film images and/or the music together or separately. For instance, if the tv show wanted to use your music as an intro or a fade to commercial exit sounds, it could without the video. The only way to limit the use is to put restrictions into the agreement.