Navigating Entertainment Law For Professional Gaming
Gaming has become a viable career path for many people, and like many other performance professions it relies on advertisement. There are many opportunities to earn a living while doing what you enjoy in life, there are some legal pitfalls that may slow or stop the fun. Consider a few areas in the gaming world where you may need to consider retaining legal defense to protect your best interests.
Copyrighted Background Music Removal
Many gamers make their money not just by being good at the game, but by being entertaining. Many gaming personalities are simply fun to watch, either through their intoxicating personalities or the way they show the game of choice.
The sound of the game and the sound of the person's voice may not be enough. For the less talkative gamers, music has become a familiar backdrop to present their impressive plays and interesting tricks. Unfortunately, music selection isn't easy.
As game streaming and online video have become popular on the Internet, music studios are no strangers to getting the payments they deserve. You can't just put any musical artist on your video; most popular streaming sites (the ones that have the best playing opportunities) have regular review policies for copyrighted material. If you don't have permission to play a really cool song that fits your video, it simply gets removed once found.
In some cases, the video may be simply muted. Unfortunately, this may take away your commentary as the music is turned off.
Why Not Just Get Permission?
In the normal world of online transactions, getting permission and paying royalties for issues such as music use should be simple. You get permission to play the music through any means available and use it with no problem, right? Wrong.
There are times when the rights for music can change hands, or the legal landscape of music ownership may change. Quite a few events have shown how getting permission from the artist doesn't always result in smooth legal sailing, leading to a legal dispute where you and the artist agree while the artist's label isn't on the same page.
Even sites that were once friendly towards relaxed sharing policies have changed their views after company changes or major industry overhauls. Unfortunately, your advertisement revenue and viewer satisfaction can fail overnight—and there isn't much you can do on your own.
By seeking the assistance of an attorney in the gaming, music or even general entertainment industries, you can begin a plan for defending yourself an your earnings. If you believe that a site has targeted you unfairly, you need to do what it takes to demand compensation.
It can be difficult to measure how much you've lost in the process, but an attorney with experience in entertainment industry law can help you recover your losses. Contact an attorney like Lynn Jackson Shultz & Lebrun PC as soon as possible to learn more about your rights and opportunities.