Copyright Question
  • JesJes
    Posts: 576
    G'day,
    Okay, so I go to University still (I know... I'm really ready to leave) and I have access to Digital Scores (one very good reason to not leave.)
    These scores I use a special log in to access.
    Does this mean that I may publicly perform say Langlais material if they are not yet public domain but I have a log in to access the score and I do not print these or use these for commercial purposes just for mass?

    Additionally, I am doing lots of transcriptions of music by ear. Does this breach copyright?
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 1,960
    The first question is hard to answer since we aren’t in the same country for the most part.
    Thanked by 1Jes
  • JesJes
    Posts: 576
    What is US law on this?
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,704
    Just because something has a log in access does not mean it is copyright, i.e. The Sarum liturgical books are not copyright but are not freely available online.

    Digital scores would be copyright of the person or organisation that produced it, they can of course give permission under say Creative Commons for various uses.

    There are plenty of posts on this forum about copyright law, the search function is very good, top right on this page.
    Thanked by 1Jes
  • janetgorbitzjanetgorbitz
    Posts: 964
    Any material whose first publication in the United States was before 1923 is in the public domain. This rule is stated in many basic guides to copyright law; for example, in this one at Cornell University:
    http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm
    Thanked by 1Jes
  • PaxMelodious
    Posts: 426
    Many countries have a copyright exemption for performing works during a religious service inside a church. This usually doesn't cover making copies, but it does cover the performance aspect.
    Thanked by 1Jes
  • Andrew_Malton
    Posts: 1,159
    If your institution has a license for you to copy and print (eg from "Digital Scores") then that's what you can do. The license may or may not include performing rights but probably not, and it should be written somewhere you can look. It might depend on which resource you are actually copying from, unless "Digital Scores" is the name of a licensing service. For example many libraries will find CPDL material for you: that you can do what you like with. (Thanks, Charles!)

    Transcribing music by ear without license is generally infringement, although it is fair use if you only quote a bit of it in a paper or for a talk.

    Performing a work without license is infringement regardless of where you got the copy. As Pax says above, performance for worship is often licensed by the law itself: so in the UK, and Canada, and the US, and likely Australia. That doesn’t let you make copies of the score, though.
    Thanked by 1Jes
  • canadashcanadash
    Posts: 1,499
    Transcribing music by ear without license is generally infringement, although it is fair use if you only quote a bit of it in a paper or for a talk.


    What if the music transcribed has not yet been published? What if you have asked for it and no one has done anything with it and the composer is gone, but not long (1923) gone?
    Thanked by 1Jes
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,160
    In your case, that's a question for someone who knows Canadian copyright law. There probably are discussion boards where knowledgeable people field questions about it.
    Thanked by 2canadash Jes
  • JesJes
    Posts: 576
    Cheers. This really helped me sort some things out.

    I have some really good scores accessed by the Uni library so I signed up to a special governing body that allows me to pay for the use of these scores.

    Now I think I prefer hard copy anyway but this is a good quick fix.
  • Jeffrey Quick
    Posts: 2,046
    Canada is pretty liberal; if the composer died more than 50 years ago, you're good to go.
    Copying and performing are two separate issues. Performing licenses are handled by performing rights societies (BMI and ASCAP in US). They don't charge for music in the context of liturgy (do an organ recital, and it's a different matter). There are works of Langlois I'd love to use, but I refuse to pay $5 per page per copy.
    Thanked by 2Jes canadash
  • JesJes
    Posts: 576
    Yup, it all adds up.
    I used to be an editor of scores for a while so I try not to use free sheet music that much but when I saw this was available I quickly saved the location of it for personal practice.
  • JesJes
    Posts: 576
    My question about transcription is can you just keep a transcribed version, not for performance or does that also infringe?
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