autotuning/vocoder effect constitutes songwriting?

[sport]

I'd like to put this out there and get some opinions from those in the know(that is anyone who knows more about this than me).
I wrote a song with a techno-dance mix producer. I came up with the lyrics and vocal melodies. There was auto-tuning and some vocoder effects, as well as phase shifting(i think that's what it's called-it's similar to the super deep sounding voice on some of Prince's new songs) The autotuning and vocoder effects were similar but not identical to that dance hit that starts off "one more time"-similar I guess to many dance or techno tunes that have been recorded in the last couple years. The effect didn't substantially change the melody-sometimes in techno there is a "robotic" effect that makes the melody almost indecipherable-this was not the case with our song(it was less of this robotic effect than "one more time").
When I told my co-writer/producer that I would like to tell publishers that I wrote the lyrics and vocal melody,(I am a songwriter and want to properly represent who does what-I'm primarily a melody and lyric writer-I wanted to make sure it was clear that I didn't only write the lyrics) and that he was responsible for everything else-the protools arranging and all the bells and whistles associated with a club mix dance tune- he strongly disagreed with me saying this.
He responded by saying that I co-wrote the melody-that the final mix does not contain what was sung into the microphone-that it has been "processed" by the computer and by doing this he co-wrote the melody.
We have already agreed on a songwriting split so this won't affect any income-a split is whatever 2 people agree on-this is not the issue, but in terms of how anyone else may perceive things-I am trying to sell myself as a songwriter. His contributions were great and I don't dispute the fact that the phase shifting low voice is not my real voice-but the way I see it is that I adapted to that effect and wrote a melody using it. As for the autotuning -it makes my voice sound really sweet , etc, but I don't see any of this as songwriting per se. It seems to me that it is engineering and producing-very hands on and involved, but not actual songwriting. I have bounced this off a music lawyer(whom I was already involved with-I didn't go get a lawyer just for this!) and a techno producer. Both said that my co-writers' contribution did not constitute co-writing of the vocal melody.
My co-writer has not done alot of songwriting collaborations although he is a professional re-mixer-he's had stuff on mainstream radio, etc.
I think it is only fair to accurately represent who did what, as I wouldn't think of taking any credit for the excellent sonic quality, etc of our song.
So, on the one hand he may not know exactly where the line is drawn in terms of engineering and when it gets into songwriting-but on the other hand he has been in the 'business' for awhile.
A note about the song-it has some killer vocal hooks-one of my lawyers thinks it is a hit song.
The pessimist in me has wondered if he might be trying to stretch what his abilities and contributions are when it comes time to do a deal with a publisher- as far as I know he doesn't write any lyrics or vocal melodies or have ability in this area. There is some interest from major publishers-they have both said they love the chorus, but there are problems with the beat, etc.
I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt, in which case I am wrong as well as the lawyer and the other producer.

Let's hear from you guys. I'm looking forward to it.

[Henri Devill]

Hes the producer you are the songwriter...Its very simple!Don't be railroaded...IMHO...



Don

[Eurythmic]

I agree with Don, and I also think that you might want to strongly consider finding a new co-writer. Either that, or devise a 50/50 split on ALL of your songs a la Lennon/McCartney. Knowing that you're going to be credited equally no matter who comes up with the ideas should end the fighting and allow you to focus on being creative.

But then, if you're the one who's trying to get picked up as a songwriter, and he's trying to be a producer, it seems like that's how you'd both be credited. I dunno.

He sounds pretty dishonest to me, based on this story.