Who owns the name, and who may use it after a departure.
How songwriting credits are allocated, decided before the song makes money.
What a departing member keeps, and what they continue to receive.
Who owns the masters, the merchandise rights and the social accounts.
Quick Answer
Who owns a band name in Canada?
Whoever the agreement says owns it, and where there is no agreement the answer is unsatisfying and expensive. In the absence of documentation the band is often, in law, a partnership, which brings default consequences most members would not choose: shared ownership of partnership property, joint liability for partnership debts, and dissolution rules that operate on departure. Rights in a name may also arise through trademark registration or through use, and a registration standing in one member’s name is a strong position that other members rarely notice until it matters. The practical answer is that the name is usually the most valuable asset a band has and the one least often addressed. An agreement should say who owns it, whether a departing member may use it, whether a continuing group may use it, and what happens if everyone leaves. Those four sentences prevent the great majority of band disputes.
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THE DEFAULT
A Partnership Nobody Agreed To
A group of people carrying on business in common with a view to profit may be a partnership whether or not anyone intended it. Playing shows, splitting fees and sharing costs can be enough.
The consequences are real. Partnership property is held for the partnership rather than the individual. Partners are jointly liable for partnership debts, so one member’s commitment can bind the others. And the default rules on dissolution can be triggered by a departure, which is precisely the moment when nobody wants a technical dissolution.
None of that is a reason to panic, and it is a reason to write something down. A short agreement displaces the defaults with terms the members actually chose, and it can be a few pages rather than a formal document.
SONGWRITING SPLITS
Decide Them Before There Is Money
Splits are the most common source of lasting bitterness, and they are trivially easy to settle in advance and almost impossible to settle afterwards. Under section 13(1) the author is first owner, and where a work is created jointly the position depends on the contributions.
The recurring dispute is about what counts as writing. A member who contributed a riff, a rearrangement or the part everyone remembers will feel they wrote it. A member who wrote the lyrics and the chord structure will feel differently. Neither is obviously wrong.
The two workable approaches are to allocate per song at the time it is written, recorded contemporaneously in something as simple as a shared document, or to agree an equal split across all band compositions as a matter of policy. Both work. What does not work is leaving it until a song earns money, at which point every recollection has become self serving.
DEPARTURES
What the Leaving Member Keeps
A departure raises several separable questions that are best answered separately. What happens to the departing member’s share of past income, which they generally should keep, since it was earned. What happens to their share of future income from recordings they played on, which is usually a continuing entitlement. Whether they retain any interest in the name, which they usually should not.
The distinction that avoids most arguments is between earned and prospective. Income from work already done is earned and follows the member. Income from the ongoing business of the band is prospective and follows the band.
Buyout mechanics deserve attention too. If a member is to be bought out of an interest in the name or in band assets, the agreement should say how the figure is calculated, because valuing a band name in the abstract is close to impossible and a formula agreed in advance saves an expensive argument.
THE OTHER ASSETS
Masters, Merchandise and the Accounts
Master ownership follows the maker under section 24(b), so it turns on who undertook the arrangements for the first fixation. Where the band funded a record collectively, the band or its company is likely the maker, and the agreement should record that rather than leave it to be reconstructed.
Merchandise rights, artwork and logos are separate again, and the designer may hold copyright in the artwork unless it was assigned in writing under section 13(4). A band that has been selling shirts for years without an assignment from the person who drew the logo has a gap.
Social media accounts and the mailing list are modern and genuinely contentious. They are frequently registered to one member’s personal email, they carry real commercial value, and no default rule allocates them sensibly. Naming who holds them and on whose behalf costs one sentence.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Do we need a written band agreement?
You do not need one to function, and without one you are governed by default rules including partnership law, which produce outcomes nobody selected. A short written agreement covering the name, splits, departures and assets prevents most of what bands actually fight about.
Can a member who leaves keep using the band name?
It depends on what was agreed and on any trademark position. Without an agreement it is genuinely uncertain, and uncertainty here tends to produce litigation because both sides have a real argument. This is the single most valuable thing to settle in writing.
How should we split songwriting?
Either per song at the time of writing, recorded contemporaneously, or an agreed equal split across all band compositions as policy. Both are workable. Deferring the question until a song earns money is what causes disputes, because memory becomes unreliable in a direction that favours the person recalling.
Who owns our recordings?
The maker, under section 24(b), being whoever undertook the arrangements necessary for the first fixation including the contracts, the money and the technical arrangements. If the band collectively funded and organised the session, that is likely the band. Record it in the agreement so it is not reconstructed years later.
What about our Instagram account and mailing list?
They have real value and no default rule allocates them sensibly, and they are usually attached to one person’s personal email. The agreement should state who holds them and that they are held on behalf of the band, which is one sentence and avoids a genuinely difficult dispute.
Start My Enquiry
Put a Band Agreement in Place
It does not need to be long. Four points, the name, the splits, departures and the assets, cover most of what goes wrong, and it is far easier while everyone still gets on.
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Who owns the work, who gets paid for it, and what the agreement in front of you actually signs away.
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Where we refer a matter to another firm, including through LexKonnect, we comply with Rule 3.6-6.1 of the Law Society of Ontario’s Rules of Professional Conduct. Any referral fee is set out in the Law Society’s standard referral agreement, signed by you before the referral proceeds, and no fee is payable to us unless and until the receiving firm has been paid for its work. You are never obliged to accept a referral and are free to retain any firm you choose. No referral arrangement affects the independent professional judgment of any lawyer at this firm.
Limitation Periods
Failure to commence proceedings within applicable limitation periods may permanently bar your claim. In Ontario, the general limitation period is two (2) years from discovery under the Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24, Sched. B. Seek legal advice promptly.
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Not everyone at the firm is a lawyer. Licensed paralegals in Ontario may act only within the scope permitted by the Law Society of Ontario, which does not include most family, estate or criminal matters. Immigration consulting may be provided by Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants, who are not lawyers. Each page and each biography states which applies. Ask us at the outset who will handle your matter and under which licence.
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Lexaltico LLP
Legal Notices
How Lexaltico LLP handles personal information, under PIPEDA and Ontario law.
What we collect
What you give us
When you use a form on this site, email us or telephone us, we collect what you choose to send:
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How we use it
Purpose
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Your rights under PIPEDA
Under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act,
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If you are not satisfied with our answer you may complain to the Office of the Privacy
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Short, and written to be read rather than scrolled past.
The four things that matter most
Nothing on this site is legal advice, however specific it looks.
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Do not send confidential information before a retainer is signed.
Past results depend on their own facts and do not predict yours.
What this site is
Information, not advice
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statutes and cases by name, and they are reviewed. None of that makes them advice about your
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The difference is practical rather than technical. A page explaining that spousal support is
usually indefinite after a twenty year marriage is accurate as a general statement and may be
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A conflict check must be completed. We act for a great many people and
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Why you should not send us documents yet
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Results, testimonials and reviews
What they do and do not tell you
Case results described anywhere on this site are real and are described accurately, and they are
specific to their own facts. A settlement at three times the original offer happened because of
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matter is worth.
Client reviews are the views of the people who wrote them. We do not offer anything in return for
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Calculators on this site produce estimates from the figures you enter. They apply published
formulas and they cannot know about the facts that most often change the answer.
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To the fullest extent the law permits, Lexaltico LLP is not liable for any loss arising from your
use of, or reliance on, anything published on this website.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the law of Ontario and the federal law of Canada that applies in
Ontario. Lawyers and licensed professionals at the firm are regulated by the Law Society of
Ontario, and marketing on this site is intended to comply with the
Rules of Professional Conduct.
Every limit on what this website tells you, and every thing it does not do, in one
place rather than in small print at the bottom of each page.
Before you rely on anything here
Four limits, and they matter in this order.
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Everything published on this website is general information. It is not legal
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create a solicitor client relationship. Do not act, or decide not to act, on anything here without
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These pages describe the law of Ontario, and of Alberta only
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Each page states the law as at the review date shown on it. Legislation is amended and case law
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These pages describe how a rule usually works. That is not the same as how it applies to your
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If you contact us
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This website is not an emergency service. Enquiries sent through a form here are read during
business hours and a reply may take up to 2 business days.
Using this website, submitting a form, sending an email or speaking to us on the telephone does
not make us your lawyers. That relationship arises only when the firm has
confirmed in writing that it has agreed to act, a conflict search has been completed, and a
retainer has been signed.
Confidentiality of enquiries
Do not send confidential or sensitive information through this website or by email until we have
confirmed in writing that we can act for you. Information sent before that point is
not treated as confidential and may prevent us from acting for you, or for
someone else, in a connected matter.
Response times
We aim to reply within 2 business days. Contacting us does not guarantee a reply within any
particular period, does not oblige the firm to act, and does not stop, extend or satisfy
any limitation period, filing date or court deadline.
Our telephone line
Our line is answered 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Outside office hours calls are taken
by our intake service, who record your details and pass them to the firm. A lawyer responds during
the next business day, or sooner if the matter is urgent. Answering the telephone is not the same
as giving legal advice, and no relationship arises from that call.
Who we are and how we are regulated
Law Society of Ontario
Lexaltico LLP is regulated by the Law Society of Ontario under the
Law Society Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.8. All lawyers practising in
Ontario through the firm are members in good standing.
Law Society of Alberta
Alberta matters are handled by lawyers licensed with, and in good standing with, the
Law Society of Alberta. A lawyer licensed in Ontario is not thereby licensed in
Alberta, and the reverse is also true.
Immigration regulation
Immigration consulting is provided by Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants
in good standing with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants under the
College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act, S.C. 2019, c. 29,
s. 292.
Lawyers, paralegals and consultants
Not everyone at the firm is a lawyer.
Licensed paralegals in Ontario may act only within the scope the Law Society
permits, which does not include most family, estate or criminal matters.
Immigration consultants are regulated by the College, not by a law society,
and are not lawyers.
Law clerks and managers support files but do not give legal advice.
Each page and biography states which applies. Ask at the outset who will handle your matter and
under which licence.
Languages
We serve clients in thirteen languages. Every page of this website is written and published in
English. Where anything is provided in another language, the English
version governs in the event of a difference. If you need an interpreter, tell us when
you book and we will arrange one.
Fees
The initial assessment
The no-obligation initial assessment is a brief introductory
conversation. It does not include a review of your documents and does not constitute
legal advice.
The firm charges a fee for substantive consultations, including in civil litigation,
criminal defence and immigration matters. The firm may waive that fee at its discretion.
Any fee is disclosed in advance and credited in full toward your account if you retain the
firm.
Referral fees
Where we refer a matter to another firm, including through LexKonnect, we comply with Rule 3.6-6.1 of the Law Society of Ontario’s Rules of Professional Conduct. Any referral fee is set out in the Law Society’s standard referral agreement, signed by you before the referral proceeds, and no fee is payable to us unless and until the receiving firm has been paid for its work. You are never obliged to accept a referral and are free to retain any firm you choose. No referral arrangement affects the independent professional judgment of any lawyer at this firm.
What is published on this site
Calculators and estimators
They produce estimates from what you type and cannot know the rest. They do not
account for the terms of your contract, statutory exceptions, or the discretion a court will
apply. Do not make a decision on a number produced by a calculator.
Past results
Any outcome described happened on its own facts, before its own decision maker,
under the law as it stood at the time. Past results do not predict or guarantee the result of any
other case.
Reviews and testimonials
Reviews shown here are written by third parties and published on platforms we do not control. Each
describes one person’s experience of one matter. They are not a promise, a
prediction or a guarantee about any other matter.
Links to other websites
This site links to regulators, courts, government sources, professional associations and social
platforms, all operated by others. We do not control them, we are not responsible for
their content or accuracy, and a link is not an endorsement.
Other notices
Limitation periods
Failure to start a proceeding within the applicable limitation period may permanently bar
your claim. In Ontario the general period is two years from discovery
under the Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24, Sched. B.
Shorter periods apply to many claims. Seek advice promptly. Nothing on this website extends a
limitation period.
Accessibility
We aim to meet the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
and WCAG 2.1 Level AA. If any part of this site prevents you from reaching us, telephone
+1 416 333 6200 or write to
hello@lexaltico.com and we will provide the information
in another format, at no charge.
