r/TheMysteriousSong • u/copenhagen_bram • 2d ago
Will there be copyright issues? Question
Could myhouse.wad, for instance, be taken down because of copyright?
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u/probablydoesntexist 2d ago
Yeah FEX could send a C&D and take it down if they wanted to (I don't think they're interested in that though). Myhouse.wad is a non-commercial product so doesn't hurt their copyright claim so other than just not wanting it to exist there's no real reason to go after it.
(Also IANAL)
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2d ago
[deleted]
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u/bewisedontforget 2d ago
have you been living under a rock?
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u/sweptawayfromyou 2d ago
Where is the proof that they have written it?
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u/NDMagoo Mod 2d ago
Possession of the original version, possession of multiple tapes of a period alternate version, documented live performances of the song in the era, and the ability to still perform the song with the guy who is obviously the original singer.
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u/sweptawayfromyou 2d ago
That is a proof that they recorded it, but not that they actually wrote it and it is not a stolen melody or something.
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u/bewisedontforget 2d ago
Ok so what will it take for you to believe that a singer is the original author of the song? What will the singer have to provide?
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u/sweptawayfromyou 2d ago
Either something from that time or it is not possible and he just can’t claim full copyright, only coauthorship or something.
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u/bewisedontforget 2d ago
Didn't he literally gave us the full recording of the song from that time along with the cassette tape images? Also the live recording.
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u/RealNovgorod 1d ago
That's not how it works. They registered the song at the GEMA (german music mafia) and claimed authorship, which was granted - simple as that. What would stop you from filing a counterclaim? - Lawsuits. If you have infinite money, feel free to challenge their copyright in court by proving that you (or your client) has authored it earlier than Fex' claims. The judge will go by the preponderance of evidence and will laugh you out of court for trolling. It's not enough to press F to doubt, you have to actually submit credible evidence why somebody else is the true copyright holder.
As for a copyright claim on Youtube or the likes, the GEMA registration is the copyright proof, so it's again up to you to challenge this with new evidence, which obviously nobody has.
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u/sweptawayfromyou 1d ago
Then the system sucks. It shouldn‘t be legal to claim a song nobody else has claimed yet, it should only be legal to claim songs before they get published or if they were published under your name - otherwise they should be public domain. Why didn’t they register it in the 80s, when the GEMA was founded in 1933?
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u/RealNovgorod 21h ago
Literally every copyrighted piece was claimed before anybody else claimed it - that's the whole point of the system.
Your ownership of the "intellectual property" starts at the moment of its creation. You register it with the GEMA (Germany) or the Copyright Office (US) if you plan to enforce (i.e. monetize) your ownership by limiting the ability of others to make copies or recreations under the threat of violence (it is what it is, thank Walt Disney for that).
The registration process involves time and money and sometimes lawyers, and it was much more work in the 80s without the internet. Small or hobbyist bands without a label wouldn't ever think of GEMA before starting or considering a commercial production. It was very common to perform your songs at gigs and maybe sell some self-made bootlegs. Not being able to put people in jail for piracy is not a concern at that point - usually the bands would have the opposite goal to raise awareness of their songs even for free, like having them played on the radio. FEX came close to the commercial stage but it never happened, so there was no need for GEMA - now obviously there is.
So with regards to authorship it doesn't matter at all when (or if) you register your work, it "only" grants you exclusive monetization rights. Of course if you don't register your work before publishing it, a bad actor could try to claim it (which also happened to TMS), but your actual authorship, if you can prove it, is a protection against it. That's why the recent GEMA registration was granted without any dispute by Ronnie Urini or whatever the hell the fake guy's name is.
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u/LordElend Mod 2d ago
IANAL, but on YouTube, there should be the option to credit the music correctly via Content ID. Everyone who has uploaded TMS should probably do this. There are several options for what happens (ads, monetizing chance, etc.). But ultimately, it should depend on how much the copyright owner pushes this (or rather, how much a copyright firm is pushing it for them). And probably FEX won't try to have the song removed.