Legal 2022`

Why Musicians Need Legal Protection

Experience shows that it is better to pay several hundred dollars at the start of a project, than to lose millions later on. Even celebrities are vulnerable when an incorrectly composed contract, or sometimes just a few words in the contract, lead to huge financial losses. Too often, musicians, composers, and other creative people are not serious enough when it comes to questions of money and documents.

You are about to start a career in which you will have to complete dozens of applications and contracts, live performing reports, and licensing agreements for TV and radio shows. Due to the development of internet services which sell downloads of your music, laws created to protect copyright and intellectual property are continuously changing and becoming more rigorous. Our music attorneys will keep track of all contract obligations, and protect your intellectual, visual, mechanical and digital property rights. Your attorney is also necessary to safeguard against paying "extra" taxes on author's fees and royalties that you will receive.

Atlantic Artists Will Protect Your Rights

All clients of Atlantic Artists receive the services of our highly qualified and experienced music attorneys. The attorney will supervise the preparation and signing of all contracts and agreements you enter into for the duration of your business relationship with Atlantic Artists.

How to start with Atlantic Artists

Atlantic Artists works in cooperation with authors - all author's rights are the intellectual property of the author. In order to start working with Atlantic Artists as a label-ready artist, and to guarantee all legal protections for your project, we must obtain a copy of all international rights and licensing for the materials (music samples, text, ideas, etc.) you submit.

Copyright

Atlantic Artists will prepare a Presentation Kit which includes music samples, photographs, videos, song lyrics, ideas and claims. This information will be sent to the Library of Congress for the registration of a Copyright certificate in your name. The Library of Congress will inform the company that your presentation materials have been received, and from that moment you will be the sole owner of all international intellectual property rights. Within a few months, the Library of Congress will send us a Copyright certificate. Atlantic Artists will immediately send you the original certificate, and keep a copy on file for use in all future transactions involving your project. You will be able to verify the status of your intellectual poperty at any time on the official Library of Congress website.

ASCAP Registration

While we obtain the Copyright certificate, Atlantic Artists will also register your music material in your name with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), which will safeguard your author's rights and make sure that you are paid royalties on a regular basis. Registration takes several weeks. Once your project is registered, you will be able to use the official ASCAP website to control everything that happens to your music, and in your name.

Trademark

In addition to Copyright and ASCAP registration, Atlantic Artists will also prepare documentation for a lifetime registration of the name of your project (whether it be musical group, album, performing artist, or stage name) and obtains a Trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This is required for commercial distribution and marketing of your project. The United States Patent and Trademark Office issues an international registration certificate and a Trademark for the name of your project within 2-4 weeks. Atlantic Artists will immediately send you the original certificate, and keep a copy on file for use in all future transactions involving your project. You will always be able to check on the status of your intellectual property on the official website of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

If you have any questions

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.