Klarinet Archive - Posting 001110.txt from 1997/11

From: avrahm galper <agalper@-----.com>
Subj: COPYRIGHT AND TRANSCRIBING
Date: Sat, 29 Nov 1997 21:33:54 -0500

Copyright and transcribing

TheToronto Symphony used to rent a lot of music that was copyright, such
as Symphonies by Prokofief and the like.
They were allowed to make extra copies, strings and things like that.
But the condition was, that after the performance all the parts PLUS THE
COPIES were to go back to the rental company.
Some of us would sneak out a part or so, but it was illegal.

My first encounter with transcribing and copyrighting was when I thought
that Debussy was already public domain.

I transcribed Syrinx by Debussy into a comfortable key for clarinet and
gave it to Selmer,Toronto.
They in turn sent and gave it to the CLARINET magazine to print so all
clarinet players could learn it.
It was printed in one of the issues, I think in 1993 or 1994.

A letter came from Theodore Presser claiming rights to this and a whole
correspondence ensued.
Eventually they want to know how many copies were printed and sold etc.
When they found out that no copies were printed or sold, they stopped
writing.

My friend, who is active in these things, told me that for them to sue
would cost them hundreds of dollars just to write a lawyer's letter. It
didn't pay to pursue it.

There is a group here called SOCAN that can tell one what is public
domain or not.
A few weeks ago I enquired about Syrinx again and it is public domain,
in Canada for sure. I think that in the US also.

I had wanted to transcribe Bartok's Roumanian dances for clarinet and
piano. My source told me that at the beginning of 1997 it becomes
public domain in the USA and Canada.
BUT NOT IN EUROPE. There the heirs have managed to increase the
copyright by some years.
Anyway, I went ahead and printed my version of the Roumanian dances.

You really have to know what you can do and what you can't.
All this surmising is questionable. It pays to know beforehand.
I think that it's possible that one can write the Library of Congress
and find out.
If you have to go through lawyers, it can only cost you a lot of money
for nothing.

Avrahm Galper