All is not completely lost...

They can contact the site where the files are located and get a judge to issue a cease from exposure court order. They can then get an injunction against whomever it was that released the music w/o authorization and start civil action to recover damages.

This is a time consuming process to say the least, but they need to use the phrase; "time is of the essence". That being the case, most judges will act fairly swiftly to minimize damages to the true copyright holder.

They should then make every attempt to find out what they're legal boundaries are for public acknowledgemnt of the perpetraitor. They have to be careful, but exposing the illegal copyright infringement is somewhat paramount.

Please let them know that they need to act QUICKLY to protect their property!

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Ok

I don't think the WEB exposure has hurt their sales tangibly. Bluegrass afecionados don't usually steal music, they buy it. If the band had a marketing plan, than plan is still in effect and should/will produce sales, with or without the bootleg copy on the web. This has happened often to No.1 selling artists and they still came out ahead.

IF the band had NO marketing plan (a REAL plan I mean, inclusive of concurrent radio/live/web promotion/gigs/shows, etc...) then, it's a bit of a moot point.

Yes, there is a definite and REAL copyright infringement but, to say that the web mp3s are killing ALL their sales (or even a significan portion of it) is a different ball game.

It's always best to look at the situation realistically: how many copies did their previous CD sell? What did their marketing plan entail? How badly does the web bootleg harm the marketing plan? Etc...

The first action to take is to contact the ISP and the website HOST and DEMAND the music be removed at once. This MUST be done both in writing (by means of registered mail with return receipt) and over email/fax for time's sake.

The letter should state without question that the music was posted WITHOUT the permission of the rightful owners of the publishing/writing rights. It should also state that such UNAUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTION is of course affecting the band's retail sale of such material.

It should also state that IMMEDIATE REMOVAL of the files is demanded.

It is important to note the difference between the ISP who leases the website and the OWNER/OPERATOR of the website who buys the hosting services from the ISP. They are BOTH "jointly and severly" responsible for the content illegally posted and therefore, "jointly & severly" LIABLE (AFTER they have been notified of the infringment).

However, as to getting monetary damages is virtually impossible. But, at least they can get the music off the site.

Good Luck!

Tell them to come in and record another "bonus" track or two for the real one ...;)

Ok

DIGIT's got it pretty close to right as far as recovering monetary damages.

The real point is to attempt to nail-down WHO it is that illegally/unauthorized released the material to the website.

Unless this is a publicity stunt, the perp should be exposed as publicly as practical/possible. Thus my comment about researching the limits of what their ability to expose this "person(s)" can and/or should be. They cannot afford to do anything that may jeopardize them as a band and as artists. Afterall, they don't need to get a reputation as a bunch of whiners... just what they probably are... victims of a copyright infringement.

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