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Copyrights when trying to get your songs taken down years after you uploaded it?

Started by Dream of Omnimaga, January 14, 2015, 03:07:07 AM

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Dream of Omnimaga

Ok, so I was wondering something:

Let's say that several years ago, I decided to upload my own music on a certain website, back when I offered every song for free. Then a few years later, I decide to start charging money for my work then upload most of it on Bandcamp, but forgot to get it copyrighted with official agencies for whatever reason. For a while, they were on iTunes, which could provide some proof, but unfortunately it isn't the case anymore as I could no longer afford to keep them there.

Then one day, I decide to ask the webmaster of the site where I originally uploaded my songs to remove my files or at the very least replace the original MP3 files with links to my store. But several weeks later, they still haven't done it.

Since I failed to copyright my work beforehand, does it mean that I do not have a case and that they can keep my work online or do anything with it for however long they want? And if it's not a lost cause, then what actions, including legal, could I take if the website in question fails to comply with my request?


(Note: I don't mind if people share my music, even via Torrent, but I would prefer that if they share it that they also share the official link on Bandcamp or at least my Youtube channel, plus maybe some controls about where I want or don't want freely downloadable MP3 copies)
  • Calculators owned: TI-82 Advanced Edition Python TI-84+ TI-84+CSE TI-84+CE TI-84+CEP TI-86 TI-89T cfx-9940GT fx-7400G+ fx 1.0+ fx-9750G+ fx-9860G fx-CG10 HP 49g+ HP 39g+ HP 39gs (bricked) HP 39gII HP Prime G1 HP Prime G2 Sharp EL-9600C
  • Consoles, mobile devices and vintage computers owned: Huawei P30 Lite, Moto G 5G, Nintendo 64 (broken), Playstation, Wii U

CKH4

This sucks, I assume that a take down request is your only option but I'm not sure how it applies to music. I assume that even though your music wasn't copyrighted when you first uploaded it, it should be protected now. I'm not sure if this would apply given your situation. This link may be helpful: https://www.eff.org/issues/dmca.
Good luck, I hope you can get this issue resolved.
  • Calculators owned: TI-83+, TI-84+


Yuki

Well, even if you do nothing, your work is automatically protected by copyright. Although you can always threaten them with a good DMCA, I guess.
  • Calculators owned: TI-83+ (dead?), Casio Prizm (also dead???)
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Read Zarmina!
YUKI-CHAAAANNNN
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Dream of Omnimaga

I thought that to be officially copyrighted, we had to register our work at some copyright office, though? (which costs money)

Also, if I register my work to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, does it automatically register it worldwide or do I need to register it in every country one by one?
  • Calculators owned: TI-82 Advanced Edition Python TI-84+ TI-84+CSE TI-84+CE TI-84+CEP TI-86 TI-89T cfx-9940GT fx-7400G+ fx 1.0+ fx-9750G+ fx-9860G fx-CG10 HP 49g+ HP 39g+ HP 39gs (bricked) HP 39gII HP Prime G1 HP Prime G2 Sharp EL-9600C
  • Consoles, mobile devices and vintage computers owned: Huawei P30 Lite, Moto G 5G, Nintendo 64 (broken), Playstation, Wii U

Yuki

I remember I suggested you should register your songs to the SOCAN but finally I think we deemed it was too much trouble. And yeah, copyright automatically applies when you first publish your work, although registering it is just a bonus.
  • Calculators owned: TI-83+ (dead?), Casio Prizm (also dead???)
  • Consoles, mobile devices and vintage computers owned: A lot
Read Zarmina!
YUKI-CHAAAANNNN
In the beginning there was walrii. In the end there will be walrii. All hail our supreme leader :walrii: --Snektron

if you wanna throw money at me and/or CodeWalrus monthly it's here

aetios

* aeTIos starts sharing DJ's music by torrent ;D
Just kidding, is this a serious case or just a "what-if?" case?
ceci n'est pas une signature

Dream of Omnimaga

I would not say serious, but yes it unfortunately happened, although it was me who originally uploaded my work there, not someone uploading it without my permission (although everyone lost the ability to modify their files directly ever since). Of course I know that on Russian sites my music is already widespread and I can't do anything, but on other more reachable websites, I feel that if I request the removal of my work from a particular website, even if I previously uploaded it myself, or at least request that work to be replaced with redirects to the Bandcamp streams, that my request should be processed in a reasonable time frame and I should have more control on where my work is hosted. But again, for certain people, reasonable time frame means half a year.
  • Calculators owned: TI-82 Advanced Edition Python TI-84+ TI-84+CSE TI-84+CE TI-84+CEP TI-86 TI-89T cfx-9940GT fx-7400G+ fx 1.0+ fx-9750G+ fx-9860G fx-CG10 HP 49g+ HP 39g+ HP 39gs (bricked) HP 39gII HP Prime G1 HP Prime G2 Sharp EL-9600C
  • Consoles, mobile devices and vintage computers owned: Huawei P30 Lite, Moto G 5G, Nintendo 64 (broken), Playstation, Wii U

Travis

Registering copyright makes a court case a lot easier, I think, since it provides proof, though in the US (and assuming Canada is the same) things are technically already copyrighted by default.

If you uploaded your songs to a site, then another thing that may depend is whether the law says that you've given the site a non-exclusive, irrevocable license to continue hosting the songs on the site, or, perhaps the site has a terms of service agreement saying this. (Some forums have a policy like this so that people who contribute posts or tutorials or whatever can't come back and destroy contributed resources or the flow of threads by demanding everything be removed.) I'm not a lawyer, so I have no idea what the law actually says regarding this. You might check the site's TOS/license agreement to see if it says anything in particular regarding this, since if you agreed to it, it may be legally enforceable, depending on the laws in yours and/or the site's jurisdiction.
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Dream of Omnimaga

Well, the site in question used to have a disclaimer stating that All the files uploaded on this website are property of their respective authors. Now it says that all downloads are written by users who may not represent the website as a whole.

For forum posts I know that most sites will refuse to let people mass delete their posts because most people only do it for ragequit reasons, vandalism or to start drama, but in such case it's usually best that the said site states it (in our case it isn't explicitely stated, although one of our rules includes "trying to start drama" and, I believe, vandalism, as a bannable offense. I should add a clause saying that all uploads are property of their respective owners, though.à

Also, the site used to require its users to sign up in order to download music, which isn't the case anymore. This was one reason why I didn't mind keeping my music there until recently. On the other hand, their TOS says that their TOS can change at any time.

Thanks for the info, though. I'll definitively have to investigate on copyright laws depending of where the site is hosted and where it considers itself based in. Ideally I would prefer not resorting to any legal action nor C&D and try to solve it more nicely, so I will most likely just try to ask them again, but if the request still remains unanswered for whatever reasons then I will definitively have to .
  • Calculators owned: TI-82 Advanced Edition Python TI-84+ TI-84+CSE TI-84+CE TI-84+CEP TI-86 TI-89T cfx-9940GT fx-7400G+ fx 1.0+ fx-9750G+ fx-9860G fx-CG10 HP 49g+ HP 39g+ HP 39gs (bricked) HP 39gII HP Prime G1 HP Prime G2 Sharp EL-9600C
  • Consoles, mobile devices and vintage computers owned: Huawei P30 Lite, Moto G 5G, Nintendo 64 (broken), Playstation, Wii U

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