Family Law Meets Music Copyright Law

Copyright Legal Advisory Services:  Copyright termination rights is an easily overlooked legal right granted to songwriters, and sometimes a film composer and their estates, as well as those of a music producer, recording artist, graphic artist, or book author. Music copyright law is specialized and can involve deadlines and transfer issues. An estate trustee, and the trust and estates they manage often need special counsel to navigate the complexities of music licensing and termination. Music Entertainment attorney Cheryl Hodgson is an expert music lawyer and understands the terms of a license agreement that calls for payment of a copyright royalty. Her firm provides copyright advisory services to family lawyers in the area of music copyright laws, and those advising trust and estates on the issues of contract termination, music licensing, publisher royalties, and music publishing royalties.

Family law practitioners In Los Angeles are often called upon to represent the spouse of a film composer (movie film composer), a music producer, a recording artist, a book author, or a graphic artist who have a right to share in the artist royalties or music royalties from copyrighted assets created during the term of the marriage.  Copyrights and royalties are community property in California. This includes recording royalties, music publishing royalties, and book publishing royalties, and a music royalty from licensing of music for television and film. Cheryl provides valued expertise on how to structure settlement agreements to insure proper transfer of rights in assets to the non-author spouse, as well as the skill and experience to insure that a music royalty from a music license agreement with a music publisher, or a book royalty due to an author under a book contract are properly accounted and paid.

Cheryl Hodgson, expert music lawyer Los Angeles and book contract attorney, understands music copyright laws and other forms of copyright law. Her firm provides expert advisory services to the Estates of Composers and songwriters. Copyright owners and as well as the estates of deceased songwriters, music recording artists, photographers, authors and artists have termination rights 35 years following the date of a transfer of the copyright. If strict rules are not followed, termination of contract is a right that can be lost.

Contact Cheryl Hodgson, music copyright lawyer: 310.623.3515