Hi, I am a songwriter so wondering...
Do you, or is there a place to register your art. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS? It's true that as soon as a song is written, or art created, or book written, it's copyrighted but....
I do know if someone steals one of my tunes, I can stop them, at my expense, but if it's not registered, I may not be able to sue for damages. If it's registered I can seek damages and be reimbursed for attorney fees.
And yes, it's important to find out.... did they print the bootleg or is it something they got from someone that got it from you?
I think this is copyright infringement, theft of intellectuals and you may need a special lawyer that specializes because most lawyers have no clue with intellectual property rights. If you were working for a publisher, then you would bring it to their attention and they have special people to deal with this.
Also about international sales... this is a gray area with intellectuals because if an item is not registered prior to publishing, you may lose international rights.
Do you have a website? If you do you can post on there about prospective buyers to be aware of those who are selling illegal prints of your works, that not only are they inferior to your own offerings, but it's just not good karma.
The positive side is... you must be a great artist and should seek and likely find success securing a representative/agent/publisher for your art. You shouldn't have to worry about this as a creator.
I too would be very upset, in fact flipping out, if someone were making copies of my CD's and distributing them and I wasn't benefiting from the sale of my creations.
I wish you all the best in finding a resolution!
