NAPLES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pro Music Rights, the third largest performing rights organization in the U.S., representing over 2 million works, and Cosynd, the fastest and most affordable way for creators to protect themselves and their work, are pleased to announce a valuable partnership to protect the copyright interests of Pro Music Rights artists. The announcement comes on the heels of the news of Pro Music Rights’ lawsuit against Spotify seeking over $1 billion for distribution to its artists for unfair and deceptive trade practices, unfair competition, and copyright violations.
The partnership underscores Pro Music Rights’ mission to protect its community, which represents nearly 8% of the entire market and will ultimately save its artists thousands in legal fees. As part of the collaboration with Cosynd, Pro Music Rights' artists can create vital contracts (split sheets, premium split sheets, work for hire agreements, and producer agreements) that secure their copyrights and can register works with the U.S. Copyright Office at a discounted rate. Artists can register their works in a matter of minutes by answering simple questions that Cosynd uses to automatically file registrations on behalf of Pro Music Rights users. In a later phase of the partnership, Cosynd’s API will integrate directly with Pro Music Rights’ dashboard, thereby making these crucial steps even easier for its artists.
“Now, more than ever, it’s easier to create and share content, but it hasn’t gotten easier for artists to protect their content - their livelihood. That’s why we are thrilled to partner with Pro Music Rights to offer its community a simple, affordable, and user-friendly process for registering their works with the U.S. Copyright office,” said Cosynd founder and CEO Jessica Sobhraj. “Combined with the simple copyright ownership contracts that we offer, our partnership will provide its artists with a fast and affordable way to protect all of their assets - from music, videos, album art, and everything in between."
Jake P. Noch, CEO of Pro Music Rights, said: “Cosynd is an invaluable asset to the thousands of rightsholders Pro Music Rights represents and with the Pro Music Rights and Cosynd partnership, we are encouraging all of our artists to utilize Cosynd to register their works directly with the U.S. Copyright office, which can be done from the Pro Music Rights’ dashboard. The Pro Music Rights and Cosynd partnership has come at a crucial time for Pro Music Rights artists as Pro Music Rights ramps up its intellectual property enforcement campaign on our clients’ behalf. We will continue the fight against all those who have plundered and profited off the intellectual property rights of Pro Music Rights’ clients. The Cosynd Partnership enables Pro Music Rights to validate ownership and hold accountable ALL unlicensed music users, no matter the size of the infringer."
Without basic copyright ownership contracts and registrations in place, everyone involved in the creation of a copyright can have an equal claim of ownership and rights by default, regardless of how much of the copyright they actually created. Misunderstandings between collaborators can lead to a slew of legal issues including improper exploitation of copyrights, unpaid royalties, and lawsuits. To date, an estimated $2.5 billion worth of “black box” royalties have gone unclaimed, because of a lack of available ownership data.
In 2019, the U.S. Supreme court ruled that artists seeking to resolve matters of ownership and infringement cannot file lawsuits until they have registered with and have obtained a decision from the U.S. Copyright Office, which can take 3-7 months. Currently, infringement suits can only be filed in federal court and pursuing a suit to the finish line can cost an average of $200,000+.
However, creators finally may have an affordable option for fighting against piracy and bad actors with the introduction or The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 (“CASE”). The CASE Act creates a voluntary small claims board within the U.S. Copyright Office that will allow artists to litigate lawsuits through an entirely digital process without the use of an attorney, as long as they have registered with (and have obtained a decision from) the U.S. Copyright Office. Through this process, copyright owners could recover up to $15,000 in statutory damages per infringed work. In October 2019, the CASE Act passed Congress with overwhelming support (410-6) and will likely pass the Senate, where it has already passed the Judiciary Committee.
About Cosynd:
Cosynd is the fastest and most affordable way for content creators to protect themselves and their life’s work. We’re the only solution that gives creators the ability to build, negotiate, and sign vital contracts that secure their copyrights, which we then register with the Copyright Office. We’re turning a long, expensive process into one that saves artists thousands in legal fees with just a few clicks. With solutions for both individuals and businesses alike, Cosynd is leveling the playing field and making basic copyright protection affordable and accessible to everyone. www.cosynd.com
About Pro Music Rights, LLC. (ProMusicRights.com):
Pro Music Rights is the 5th ever formed public performance rights organization (PRO) in the United States, that controls an estimated market share of 7.4% in the USA and that represents over 2,000,000 works that feature such notable acts as A$AP Rocky, Wiz Khalifa, Pharrell, Young Jeezy, OG Maco, the late Nipsey Hussle, and many others. Pro Music Rights pays 100% of all public performance royalties directly to the performers, songwriters, publishers, and legally entitled rights holders who have joined Pro Music Rights on a monthly basis. Jake P. Noch founded Pro Music Rights in January of 2018 and serves as the company’s CEO after experiencing firsthand the systematic issues that plague the field of public performance rights, and hinder the livelihood of performers, songwriters, publishers, and the creative community as a whole. For more information, please visit promusicrights.com.
