 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Burt
Date: 2002-08-15 23:46
The comments to my Artie Shaw concerto posting raised the question of what can I legally do.
I'M NOT A LAWYER.
IMHO, I can:
1. Make copies of a copyrighted item which I bought, as long as I don't give away the original or the copies. For example, I make copies of a solo part, mark up a copy while I practice, and mark up another copy for performance.
2. Make copies of a copyrighted item which I don't own, if it is out of print.
3. Create an original arrangement of a copyrighted composition so long as I buy the original, and use this arrangement in any manner not for profit.
4. If I borrow an original from a library which has a blanket copy privilege (yes, this exists), I can make copies of it as long as I don't use it for profit.
Somebody, please enlighten me.
Thanks.
Burt
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2002-08-16 00:04
This is what I know from teaching:
1.You may make emergency copies of music for immediate performance so long as replacement copies have been ordered.
2.You may copy <b>no more</b> than 10 % of a work <b>provided</b> that they do not constitute a <b>performable unit</b>.
3.You may make single copies for students for evaluation purposes, but you can not make more than nine <b>multiple</b> copies per course during a class term. In addition if the piece that was copied during a previous term <b> can not</b> be copied for use in the current term.
Anything else I would have to research myself.
jbutler
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-08-16 00:36
jbutler wrote:
>
> This is what I know from teaching:
>
> 1.You may make emergency copies of music for immediate
> performance so long as replacement copies have been ordered.
> 2.You may copy <b>no more</b> than 10 % of a work
> <b>provided</b> that they do not constitute a <b>performable
> unit</b>.
> 3.You may make single copies for students for evaluation
> purposes, but you can not make more than nine <b>multiple</b>
> copies per course during a class term. In addition if the piece
> that was copied during a previous term <b> can not</b> be
> copied for use in the current term.
Those are "rules of thumb", not the law.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-08-16 00:53
Burt wrote:
>
> The comments to my Artie Shaw concerto posting raised the
> question of what can I legally do.
>
> I'M NOT A LAWYER.
>
> IMHO, I can:
> 1. Make copies of a copyrighted item which I bought, as long as
> I don't give away the original or the copies. For example, I
> make copies of a solo part, mark up a copy while I practice,
> and mark up another copy for performance.
>
I am not a lawyer, either, but I have studied US copyright law extensively. The following is my understanding of generally regarded principles of the US Copyright laws. Other countries have generally more stringent laws than the US (no fair use or parody exceptions, for instance, and a much broader definition of moral and artist rights that extend beyond the copyright laws).
It is generally regarded as not within the copyright law to use a copy for public performance. The original should be used.
> 2. Make copies of a copyrighted item which I don't own, if it
> is out of print.
It is generally regarded as not within the copyright law to make a copy of an out-of-print work. Forms are available to request to copy an out-of-print work, but permission is not guaranteed.
> 3. Create an original arrangement of a copyrighted composition
> so long as I buy the original, and use this arrangement in any
> manner not for profit.
It is generally regarded as not within the copyright law to make an arrangement of a work under copyright, whether or not the performance is non-profit. Permission should be sought, but is not guaranteed.
> 4. If I borrow an original from a library which has a blanket
> copy privilege (yes, this exists), I can make copies of it as
> long as I don't use it for profit.
"Blanket copy" permission is given to faculty and students of educational institutions and is subject to restrictions (fair use clauses, and educational "course packs", though some have been deemed outside the "fair use" clause and have been withdrawn and/or the institution in question has had to pay fines). There is also the CCLI blanket permission that is obtainable for certain music used in churches, and there are other institutions that act as clearinghouses for copying.
There is a lot of music that is <b>not</b> under copyright in the US. Music published in the US before 1923, for instance. Republication of the music does not create a new copyright; however, a new arrangement of the music may (it must be substantially changed - whcih of course means that it is up to the discretion of the courts whether or not the arranger has a valid copyright).
I do have an excellent reprint of an article from the Duke Law Journal here at the site that covers public domain and copyright as it involves music: http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/Misc/46DLJ241.html and general guidelines by the Music Publishers Association may be had at http://host.mpa.org/.
It is best to contact a copyright lawyer for specific inclusions and exclusions. And oftentimes it depends on which decision of the Circuit Courts you decide to follow. Many of the decisions by different courts do not agree in pronciple with each other.
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Author: ken
Date: 2002-08-16 17:03
Burt said: Make copies of a copyrighted item which I bought, as long as I don't give away the original or the copies.
--I'm sure I'm on solid ground stating you can "give" (as in gift or donation) any or all of your lawfully-purchased "originals" i.e. sheet music, commercial vinyl, 8-tracks, cassettes and CDs to anyone you wish. I already have it itemized in my last will and testament my entire private music library (2000+ retail/store-bought originals of solos, scores etc.) be donated to my high school music department.
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2002-08-16 19:47
Copyright laws do change, and my knowledge is not current. Furthermore, not only am I not a lawyer, I have been a teacher. And under US Copyright Law, in reproducing copyrighted materials, teachers have enormous leeway that "ordinary people" just aren't allowed. So anything I write on the topic may be hardly worth reading. Anyway, under "fair use" provisions of US Law, once upon a time one could make one copy of a copyrighted work for use and retain the original as an "Archive Master." This meant that the original literally had to be stashed away and could not be put into use as long as the copy existed, and neither could it be sold or given away as long as the copy existed. Whether this provision still exists is unknown to me.
Copyright law is a maze of ever-changing regulations, and the few hundred lawyers in the US who specialized in Trademarks and Copyrights years ago have now grown into many thousands of "Intellectual Property" legal specialists. And believe me, no matter who you are, unless you specialize in that area of the legal profession, they know much more about this than you do.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2002-08-16 20:25
Irwin is a lawyer. He's posted here before. Do a search for "Leblanc Opus" and you'll probably find him. He's a great guy.
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