Even If Your Band's Not Perfect, Get The Perfect Band Agreement!

Together with my law partner, Anita Rivas,  we’ve created the perfect band partnership agreement. 99 percent of bands are not going to bother incorporating or getting an LLC. That’s a fact. However, a band can clarify the rights and obligations of all the members in a legal document with a simple band partnership agreement like the one we’ve created for Legalzoom. Then you are protected in so many ways against things that can derail your musical goals, and all for $30.00! If you add some liability insurance to that, you wil protect your personal assets in a way similar to the protection provided for  by incorporating or becoming an LLC.

Every band needs either a partnership agreement, an LLC, or a Corporation. Do it now before someone gets greedy, or lazy, or ugly, or old.  Where do you get insurance? From my buddy Mike Koissian. I’ve known him since 7th grade. He’s your man.

Is there anything really illegal going on here?

After Yelp.com’s successful IPO, there’s been a lot of attention paid lately to disgruntled establishments crying foul over the posting of negative reviews. I understand what they’re saying, but legally they would all be better off figuring out new media, rather than demonizing a successful business model that for better or worse represents the future. It is the future where all these establishments must exist. The good ole days are gone.

The argument is that punishing establishments that don’t buy ads with negative reviews amounts to extortion. The problem is that so far the complaints seem based on anecdotal conjecture. “We got negative reviews after we refused to advertise.” “Our positive reviews were being filtered out because we refused to advertise.” Maybe your food is bad. Maybe your service sucks. Who knows?

Let’s check out the legal definition of extortion: It is essentially the forcing of someone to do something they’re not legally obligated to do, through threats and coercion involving things that harm the victim, like announcing false negative information, or even true information, if it is private and harmful.

Is there any real evidence of that? I haven’t seen any reported. I’ve just seen  complaints from places that, for all I know, serve bad food or offer bad service. None of us know at this point.  What we have seen is people accusing Yelp of extortion. This brings up a more credible legal complaint: defamation. If you say things in public that are untrue, and they are the kind of thing that makes the public “spit on the ground” in disgust when they hear it, you’ve got a defamation case. If these people cannot prove these allegations, Yelp could come after them and then they are in real trouble.

I use Yelp.com about a ½ dozen times each day. I am smart enough to do my own filtering. Most Yelp reviewers are young cheap bastards that like food if they are served a lot of it at a low price. I take this into consideration.  Phony bad reviews stink from a mile away. From a consumer standpoint, it’s one of the good things about the Internet, not one of the bad things, like Youtube comments. If I’m a terrible restaurant, or mechanic in 2012, I’ve got to watch out. The game is played differently these days and there’s no way to go back to the old models.

You’ve got to be more honest and transparent these days, if you get caught up in some unjustified bad review nonsense, that’s unfortunate but this is our world now. You could also get robbed. It’s unfair but it happens. I’ve got people writing all kinds of false things on the Internet. I just have to do enough good stuff to make up for it. It motivates me to be better. And people know there are lies on the Internet, if not, someone would have surely killed me by now.

So my advice, which is free and worth every penny, is for establishments to adjust to the Internet age and try to make it work to your advantage. If you don’t, you will be replaced by people who are growing up in this age.  I made positive reviews on an obscure restaurant in Hawaiian Gardens on Yelp a couple years ago. It caught on and now I can barely get a table. This has made these honest tortilla makers into wealthy restaurant owners. The cream will always rise to the top eventually.

In a way, the Yelp controversy mirrors the shake up in the music industry  with the advent of the internet. You cannot do things by the old model. You need honesty, transparency, and the best product. Only the best will do these days. It’s rough for some, but a net positive for society. What are your experiences with Yelp?

Pure Genius, If you really want your ass kicked.

Alan Hale from the law firm  of Knobbe Martin visits the Radio show periodically to show that not all Patents the U.S. bothers to register lead to gold. This week’s is a gem. If by gem you mean something really stupid that would never fly. Enjoy. He’s also got a new podcast. Check it out here:

PROCESS FOR TRANSFORMING A GOAT INTO A UNICORN:

BRAINWASHING GOGGLES:

LIGHT BULB CHANGER:

PROCESS FOR EXERCISING A CAT:

Chuy Always Registers His Copyrights

ASCAP compiled a great list of the top career development articles in 2011.  My favorite, and most useful for my listeners is How You Can Clear Cover Songs, Samples, and Handle Public Domain Works. This is one of the most frequently asked questions on my show.  Here’s a list of things in this area to keep in mind regarding licensing music:

1. Remember, if a song is in the Public Domain, it doesn’t mean the recording of it is. You might have to record a new version.

2. You always need two licenses, one for the recording and one for the song itself (that comes from the writer, publisher, or publishing adminstrator).

3. ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC do not license songs to you, or for you. They are not publishers. They just collect money owed to songwriters and publishers when the songs are performed in public.

4. Registering with one of these entities listed in #3 does not mean your song is copyrighted.

5. You can record a cover song using a “compulsory license” without obtaining permission from the songwriter / publisher. However, if you want a discount rate, you will need to pay an advance and make a deal directly with the publisher / writer / or their rep (Harry Fox Agency).

6. You always need permission to synch a song to video. There is no compulsory license for that. It’s the wild west. People can charge whatever they want.

For some expert legal analysis by an accomplished former dancer now Greenber Glusker attorney, check Julia Haye’s posting in Law Law Land.

The I.P. Vulnerable Pacific Island Rockers "The Slants."

The band is The Slants. They are Asian rockers from Portland, Oregon that sounds like Depeche Mode and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has denied their application to register their name for Federal Trademark protection. That’s rough. According to Section 1203.1 of the Trademark Examiners Manual if your mark is “Scandalous” or “may disparage” it can be denied on those terms. This kind of subjective judgment of what’s offensive to who never works as intended in the real world. Evidently these Asians like to be called “slants.” Some gays like to be called “queers.” Punks call themselves punks, what does that mean to old timers? A prison boy toy, or something like that. And what about the Washington Redskins?

My trademark in the name Vandals was offensive to a the Honorable Ross Klein in Los Angeles Superior Court the other day when I appeared before him. He told me _...@vandals.com was not a suitable email address for an attorney. He said it was just as bad as _...@hooligans.com. Don’t tell him about the Sweet And Tender Hooligans. I also have a trademark in the name Chi-Com, International. Those lazy trade mark examiners didn’t do their homework that day. Chi-Com is a disparaging term for communists working for the Chinese during the Cold War.

Should the Trademark Office have this standard? Yes, probably. If you want to be edgy, it perhaps should cost you a bit. You either don’t get the Federal protection Trademark Registration provides, or you pay more for an attorney like me to appeal your denial. And if it’s really offensive, grow up. Do you agree, or have I just become a crotchety old man?  Reed more about the case here.

Classic Telecaster Shape With bridge From Your Host's www.evertune.com

Michael Bienstock, Esq.  of Bienstock & Michael will explain how and why The Fender Guitar Company was not allowed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to Trademark their legendary guitar shapes, thus allowing the continual copying of these shapes by other guitar manufacturers. How did this happen? Was it the correct decision? Ronald will tell all on this week’s edition of The Barely Legal Radio Program beginning at 11 am on Friday June 10 on Indie 1031.com and then again at 2 PM on Radio Weezer through IheartRadio.com. Read the tribunal’s decision here.