Klarinet Archive - Posting 000376.txt from 2009/01

From: Alexander Brash <brash@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Prokofiev Sonata
Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:07:03 -0500

you're completely wrong, but I don't have the time to explain it right
now - when I get some time on the airplane.

On Jan 25, 2009, at 5:59 PM, Kevin Fay wrote:

> Alexander Brash posted re the Prokofiev Sonata:
>
> <<<1) The creation of the arrangement is definitely not copyright
> infringement, as he's not selling his edition or profiting from it or
> publishing it.
>
> 2) Simply performing Prokofiev on an instrument different from what he
> intended is not a copyright violation in any way - and even the most
> tenuous
> argument here is easily quashed by a fair use defense.
>
> Am I missing something?>>>
>
> Yes - a basic understanding of copyright law. There's a lot of
> information
> (and misinformation) here on the list, as this subject has come up
> often
> over the years.
>
> A quick guide - although with some "information" that I could
> quibble with -
> is the MPA's site at http://mpa.org/copyright_resource_center/faq.
> It has
> links to resources for music librarians and educators that are good.
>
> Specific answers -
>
> (1) The heck it isn't. You make an arrangement of a copyrighted
> work, you
> can get sued. If you are sued, you will lose. Sorry.
>
> If he's selling it the damages would be higher. Unless he sells it,
> the
> amount of damages would likely be too low for the copyright holder
> to bother
> - I hope.
>
> (2) Performing the piece isn't a copyright violation - as long as
> he's
> looking at the original published parts. There are also mechanical
> and
> broadcast rights to attend to. (Jonathan notes that "Performance/
> broadcast
> rights would obviously be handled by the radio station." - this is
> right,
> it's their problem.)
>
> OTOH, Jonathan also notes that "[a]ctually, I am playing my own
> arrangement.
> It is pretty much based on the original flute part with a few small
> modifications for technical/musical reasons." If he's written
> something out
> on paper, whether by hand or on a computer, it's every bit as much a
> copyright violation as a photocopy. That's an observation, not a
> value
> judgment.
>
> One can argue that it's not "fair" for the Russian gov't to assert
> copyright
> in long-dead composers, esp. ones whose works were thought at one
> time to be
> in the public domain. I would be one of those people. (That's a
> value
> judgment, not an observation.)
>
> As far as "fair use" goes, this isn't.
>
> kjf
>
>
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