Klarinet Archive - Posting 000055.txt from 1998/08

From: "Mark Charette" <charette@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] Copywrite Question for "Experts"!
Date: Sun, 2 Aug 1998 23:05:51 -0400

>I say only that there
>may be, and should be, an implied right in authorized users ....*unless*
>the rental or sale contract specifically prohibits copying for *any*
>purpose,including the one I defined...to make copies exclusively to support
>the purpose of the orginal license.

The copyright law specifically prohibits copying, therefore the contract
does not have to spell out the details since you are bound by the copyright
law in accepting the material.

There's yet another twist in the law ... you cannot create an arrangement of
a copyrighted work without permission of the copyright owner,l for either
private or public performance.

Another wrinkle - the music may be in the public domain, but the written
work is copyrighted. A performance of the work holds yet another copyright.
In essence, a composition may hold 3 copyrights - 1, the music itself (using
the music for a commercial jingle without permission will land you in
court), 2, the written expression (in which the copyright may be granted to
more than one party at a time, but we'll say it's only one copyright for our
purposes), and 3, a recording of the composition.

In the case of (2) and (3), a fee and/or permission may be required for
public performances (and a recital _can_ be considered public performance of
(2), depending on a few factors).

>But I will begin my "career" in copywrite law by examining the resources
>you and Mark offer. Will I become so mired in technicalities and legal
>jargon that I'll regret I ever raised the issue? :-)

No - it's actually reasonably well written; then again, I worked on
government contracts for a few years and learned a bit of obtuse language
:^). Case law is extensive, and covers just about everything you and I can
dream of. Electronic publishing is a new area, and _that_ isn't well defined
yet.

Cheers, and happy reading!
----
Mark Charette@-----.org
Webmaster, http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet
All-around good guy and devil-may-care flying fool.
"There can be no freedom without discipline." - Nadia Boulanger

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