Sued [rp with claire_simms ]
Schroeder couldn't believe it. Seven years of harassing people from behind a counter never landed him in this position. Neither did making his opinion a little too well known at times. No, it was his passion for music, something he never thought would land him in trouble that lead him to this position. He frowned as he read the letter in front of him.
Dear Mr. Shroeder,
It has come to my attention that you are using a certain ancestor's likeness and popularity to gain notoriety for your band. At present, the band is called The Ludwigs, prints t-shirts with a portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven in the center, and have a number of songs alluding to his compositions, most notably, one entitled "The Fourth Movement". While there is no copyright for music published before 1923, what you have done is go far beyond copyright infringement. You are using someone else's name and work for you own benefit and it must stop. You are hereby being sued. I am leaving the contact information of my lawyer for yours.
Sincerely,
Mariella Beethoven
This was completely ridiculous. She may not even be an heir. The only child Beethoven had was a nephew he gained custody of. He knew the copyright law mentioned as well and was certain to look it up before proceeding to write his songs. He had assumed that it extended to the name and pictures as well, but he couldn't be sure.
What he did know was that he needed a lawyer. He wasn't familiar with any of the local firms, but he did know of one that was supposed to be very good. Of course, they were most likely well out of his price range, but it didn't hurt to try. Besides, he deserved the best.
After looking up the number online, he dialed Chang, Poole, and Schmidt and waited.