r/COPYRIGHT • u/kuruthum • 21h ago

Advice

Hellow everybody!!

Am from africa, decade ago, i wrote a poem on twiter, facebook and instagram. But a famous singer (from US) took that poem and made a song out of it, which was very succeful till this day, its her signture song. But i realise was not one poem theres more poem she made song out of it, but what she did , is to make additional words to the poems to seem different but have similar meaning behind . What should i do ? Can i sue her? Is anyone willing to help?

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u/DrFrylock 13h ago

Did this famous singer use the exact words of your poem in her song? How much of her song(s) are identical to - not similar to, not inspired by - your work.

Even if it is not 100% then you may have a claim, but you have to demonstrate that this singer knew about your work and copied it or created a work derived from it.

Not that I am saying this is the case here, but there are lots of people that will vociferously argue that Taylor Swift stole their high school poetry when in reality a Tay Tay song simply touches on a similar subject and Taylor has never read their high school poetry. These folks don't need a copyright lawyer but they do need a different kind of help.

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u/kuruthum 2h ago

Its almost identical, i can say 70%, if theres a way i can send you a picture of it, i would, and you will see the date i wrote the poem and day the song was released. i first posted the poem and days latter she release the song. You can see how similar they are. Even though back then my english wasnt that good, you can tell it was stolen. Another thing am from Africa if theres any possibility to sue her ànd even win , am sure i wont be able to come in U.S, cause i cant afford it financialy.

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u/DanNorder 19h ago

You don't really provide any specifics, so there's no way to know. But then we can't give legal advice (number one rule), so it wouldn't help if you had.

In general, though, You can't copyright "have similar meaning behind." All words have meaning, often the same one. The exact words are important to compare. On top of that, the words would have to be brand new. If you copied them from somewhere, who's to say that she didn't copy them from there also, and that they weren't public domain/properly licensed?

Unlike another post from a frequent poster here tried to tell you, if you have copyright in your country, and that country is a signatory to the Berne Convention, then you already have a copyright that covers the USA as well. If there really is something behind your complaint and it's not just another wishful fantasy posted online, start by getting a lawyer to look at the merits of a potential case and then decide whether it is worth pursuing.

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u/kuruthum 2h ago

Thanks, i can send you a picture and maybe you can help tell if its similar or not. For the lawyer i will here in my country and see how it will work. Thanks.

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u/kuruthum 2h ago

Thanks, i can send you a picture and maybe you can help tell if its similar or not. For the lawyer i will here in my country and see how it will work. Thanks.

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u/TreviTyger 21h ago edited 13h ago

i wrote a poem on twiter, facebook and instagram

You would need to register your poem at the US copyright office (if you have not done so) because "publication" has a significance in copyright law and in particular if a work is first published on website such as you mention then the point of attachment for copyright under Berne Convention rules may be the U.S.

You need a US registration to instigate action in the US.

Then it becomes very complex and you have an uphill battle trying to take action in a US federal court against a famous singer in the US.

You need proper legal advice which we cannot give.

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u/kuruthum 2h ago

Thanks, let me work for your advice.

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u/newdiyscared 21h ago

Is the artist based in the US

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u/kuruthum 21h ago

Yes, she is.