posted on November 7, 2000 12:37:34 PM new
i have a songbook up for sale right now that is out of print. i've just received an email from a potential bidder saying that she is desperate for the piano music for a particular song from the book, and that if she purchases the book would i consider scanning and emailing her the music to it, as she needs it by the weekend. wouldn't this violate copyright laws? how would i politely deny such a request? am i being a "worrywart" or should i agree to her request?
posted on November 7, 2000 12:43:46 PM new
While I wouldn't make a habit of copying stuff for people, I would probably honor this request. I have had some experience with looking for out of print music, and know how difficult it can be. I say go ahead. I'm curious, is it a wedding type song?
posted on November 7, 2000 12:49:45 PM new
junqueen3 - I typically do not post to these boards... I just normally read them... but your post interested me, as I am a musician and a composer. By all means... do NOT copy the music!!! It is indeed copyright infringement! You would be breaking the law, and if caught you could receive several thousands of dollars in fines!
If your potential customer is as desperate as she indicates, why don't you offer to end the auction early, and ship the songbook to her by overnight mail? If she really needs the book, you are likely to be able to negotiate a much higher price with her than you would get by letting the book remain on e-bay for the duration of the auction.
I would also like to add that I do not think you are a worry-wort at all. In fact, I would like to commend you for your concern regarding copyright. Far too many people tend to ignore copyright, and as a result our Nations intellectual property rights suffer. Good luck with your auctions!
... edited to remove improper formatting...
[ edited by tmarcais on Nov 7, 2000 12:52 PM ]
posted on November 7, 2000 12:51:50 PM new
meya-the song is "nightswimming" by REM, and seems to be a sort of nostalgic, melancholy reminescence of skinnydipping with a special someone...
posted on November 7, 2000 01:01:56 PM new
There might not be enough time to find out, but sometimes on out of print music you can get permission to make limited amounts of copies. There was some music our church choir needed, but it was out of print and we couldn't get more copies. Somehow the director got permission from the publishing company to make a certain number of copies of the music we did have. We had to print the copyright permission on the copies as well.
We also applied for and received limited copyrights on some praise music so we could make cd's for choir members etc. I have no idea how this was done, or what the cost was. I think we had permission to make up to 100 copies and again, the license info had to be on each one.
posted on November 7, 2000 01:04:57 PM new
Excuse me but if she owns a correct copy of the score can she not copy it to any media she wishes as long as she does not have more than one copy in use?
If she needed to copy it to large print in order to use it that would be OK.
If she owned a copy of it as a recording she would be able to copy it fron record to tape or CD in order to use it. How does this differ?
posted on November 7, 2000 01:15:52 PM new
If you are only copying one song from a collection, you should be okay within the "fair use" provisions of the copyright law.
Also, if the work was published before 1920, it is almost certainly (99%) no longer protected by copyright law at all, but has reverted to the public domain. You can in this case copy as much of it as you want as many times as you want without violating the law.
posted on November 7, 2000 06:32:08 PM new
Macandjan,
She does NOT own the copyright to that music!
ONLY REM and the distributers own the copyright.
People confuse that a lot.
If you want to make a copy, for personal use, that is fine. It is your own personal property and you can give it to anyone.
Copyright infringement would be if you sold photocopied editions of the book.
Just like if you sell a CD, you can sell the CD or give a recorded copy to your friend. You cannot sell copies.
Or "make money" giving it away as napster has learned.
Hope this clears it up.
posted on November 7, 2000 07:49:48 PM new
Sounds like "fair use" exception to the copyright laws to me. Sending the new owner a copy in advance of shipping the original is reasonable. It would be another matter if you were making copies, and selling them.
posted on November 7, 2000 10:37:17 PM new
I agree magazine guy. I would make sure that she sends payment first, before you email a copy of the song she wants. Accepting payment through billpoint, paypal, etc. Otherwise you might email her the song she wants and never hear from her again.
