I own a .com which has a popular band name followed by the word lyrics - eg (bandname)lyrics.com I want to know if there is anything I can do to minimise the chance of them just taking it due to copyright? Someone said they can just do that... is it true? Also... it's my aim to develop it into a site that will host the lyrics of the songs they have released. They have only made one album so far, and are due to release a second soon. Can I put the lyrics on the site - or will that get me in trouble too? Is there any legal way that I can make this site earn me money?
Put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel if someone else did that to you and didn't care how you felt about it? Anyway, there are both potential copyright and trademark infringement issues. I suggest you take some time to read about them as other people have.
Ouch! I don't see it as stealing anything from them. I thought of it as a chance to promote their band even more - and sell their products. I wouldn't be making burned cd's and sending them out - I would be pointing them in the direction of a site that sells them legally.
huh? I would think that the band would like it! If you have someone helping to promote and sell your cd's. They still get paid and more people are buying them, than downloading them off of some warez site. I thought I had something clever, but now I am confused. What am I supposed to do with this domain? Grrr!
A friend of mine told me the Volkswagen people refused Michael Bay's request (or whoever, I don't exactly recall who) to use their signature car model for Bumblebee for the upcoming Transformers movie 3 times. They supposedly said they don't like people thinking they approved it or what not, even though it'll potentially generate more advertising for them. Same thing with the band in question. They don't need to see it the way you do, especially if they believe their intellectual property rights are infringed. I'll tell you what: if you develop it into some kind of "true fansite", don't ever put any of their potentially copyrighted material without their permission, and don't put any hint of commercial use, then you still might be able to use the domain name. It all boils down to your intent in the first place.
Well, of course my intent was to make money! I am sorry if that sounds dodgy, but it's a bit a a necessity. I can see your perspective and am going to need to rethink what I am going to do. I physically do not have the time to develop a site, if I cannot put any revenue raising funds on it. Not many people can! Ah well... time to think.
That's the issue. You making money on their good name rather than your own good name is. The "name" is their property which is no different than your corner lot between the local school and the neighborhood... someone else comes along and sees a need for store for kids heading to school (a chance to make money) so they put up a trailer and open a store... and start making a killing You could be a really nice guy and say 'no big deal' they are entitled to make a living... but your lack of self-interest is then seen as an endorsement - an endisclosed understanding that "you" are involved - it's on your property. That market "assumption" is damaging in many ways to you even though in this whole deal you are just "being nice". IN the case of the "band" the only way you can do anything... "DON'T ASSUME" - get a written endorsement... and if the thought of asking permission isn't appealing then your "real intent" really wasn't "promoting the band" - that's an after-thought excuse only to justify you making a buck off them. e.g. "We're not tresspassing, we're making you a household brand name to parents in support of their kids going to school!" "You're a neighborhood icon because of us!"
ummm, i feel like i am constantly being told off! Yeah, I get that it's not good - that's why I came here - to see if there was a moral way to do this. I grabbed it because a lot of other artists already have these names taken - eg robbiewilliamslyrics.com - etc. Are you saying that these sites are owned by the record companies or artists? I guess that would make sense. Do you think it would be okay to approach them if I put a bit of a plan together? I guess it can't hurt - 'cause if they say no, then I wouldn't be able to do anything with it anyway....lol
I wouldn't consider it "being told off"... but being informed. As for other websites... without having insider knowledge you just don't know. I would guess they are 'likely' people doing just as you suggested... and 'likely' few will ever have a problem... right up to the point they start making money. Once there is money available - there is a winfall for a lawsuit... you can't get blood from a rock. Nonetheless they will use "dilution of brand as the defense to make a buck off you for making a buck off them". If you request - they have advance knowledge of you intent... it's difficult then to wait and claim in court "damages" since they were not interested in damages when it was just an idea.
#1 A bands name is a trademark. It's infringement to use their name in your domain name if the site contains content about the band. It doesn't matter if you add words to the domain name, it's still infringement. There is a process where they can take the domain if it is infringing. They can also recover monetary damages if they want (including treble legal fees if they have registered their mark) - although that usually doesn't happen (they just want the site taken down). #2 99% of lyric sites are illegal. You can't post the lyrics to songs without express permission as it is copyright infringement. The music industry has recently started shutting down or suing some of the larger sites - or charging a fee to publish the lyrics. Copyright infringement can actually be a criminal offense with people going to prison for several years (in extreme cases). There are a lot of sites that are operating illegally, but that doesn't make it ok. Even if they only go after 1% of them, you don't want to be one of the 1%. You should consult an attorney for specific information on your particular information. A "commercial" site is one which generates any type of revenue - including running adsense, advertising, selling memberships, even "donations for bandwidth", etc.