purchasing original song

[danrockwell]

California. I want to purchase a song from a friend. What do i need to include in the contract? It is his original work. I want to make this as legitimate as possible.

 

[quincy]

What do you need to include in the contract? It depends.

Will you be purchasing just one-time rights to use the song, with the songwriter retaining all other rights, or do you intend to purchase all of the exclusive rights in the copyrighted song currently held by the songwriter/copyright owner?

Whatever the case, to make sure the contract is a "legitimate" reflection of what you and the songwriter are agreeing to, your best bet is to sit down with an attorney in your area to draw up the contract. If the songwriter is transferring all of his exclusive rights in the copyrighted song to you, this agreement must be in writing. Record the handsigned, written agreement with the Copyright Office.

For more information, see http://www.copyright.gov.

Good luck.

 

[danrockwell]

thank you so much

 

[quincy]

You'e welcome, danrockwell.

Good luck.