Chris Daughtry has countersued the members of his pre-Idol band, Absent Element. The singer’s former bandmates previously sued the American Idol season 5 alum for royalties for the hit song “Home,” and tracks on a 7 song album the band recorded together titled, Uprooted. Ryan Andrews, Scott Crawford and Mark Perry are the defendants named in the suit.
“On April 4, 2006, Defendants wrongfully filed, without Plaintiff’s knowledge or consent, a copyright registration … claiming that the parties were the “co-authors of all lyrics, music and performance of all 7 songs …” the complaint says.
Daughtry says he was never aware of the registration and only learned of it in March 2012.
“Although Plaintiff does not dispute that the parties jointly recorded the songs on the “Uprooted” album and are equal co-owners of the copyrights in the sound recordings embodied on the album, Defendants did not co-author the music or lyrics for the songs set forth in the copyright registration that they filed,” the complaint says.
Daughtry claims he is the sole author of the music and lyrics of three of the songs on “Uprooted”; while he and defendant Perry co-authored two of the others; and he, Perry defendant Andrews wrote another.
“Plaintiff has never executed a memorandum, contract or any other written instrument transferring any interest in the copyrights to the musical compositions or the sound recordings identified herein to any of the Defendants,” the complaint says.
Daughtry seeks a declaration that he and his former band mates did not jointly offer all the music and lyrics on the “Uprooted album,” and that he is the sole author of the songs, “Breakdown Conviction,” “Keep Me Close,” and “Weaker Side.”
Stay tuned for updates as this case slowly wends it’s way through the courts. The initial lawsuit was filed by Chris’s bandmates in April of 2012.
Via Court House News
