Posted by Bob Moody to the Community Music List. I think it's important enough to forward to this list as well.
-----Original Message----- From: Bob Moody [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, June 09, 2003 4:12 AM To: Community Music Subject: C-M: public domain A few years back, congress passed the Sonny Bono copyright extension act. This act was primarily enacted to protect Disney movies (and movies from other major film houses) which were about to go into public domain. A side effect of this act is to cause copyright to be extended on other works "with no commercial value" such as out-of-print band music where the copyright owner is either many years deceased (if copyright is by an individual) or many years out-of-business (if copyright is by a corporation or business entity.) Many of these works are out-of-print and no copies of parts are available, nor is there anyone available to authorize copying. The up-side is that since nobody is "minding the store" the likelihood of any civil action under copyright law is very remote. In any event, it would be beneficial to all community bands that play "period music" to have this law changed. An additional side effect of this law was to cause many "classic" late 19th-century choral works to go out of print. (Of course merchant's capital tax contributed to this problem.) For example, the composer with the greatest output of this type of music, Dudley Buck, is represented by only about 3 pieces in print out of hundreds published. Another composer, Caleb Simper, whose music "was heard in churches around the world" also is fading into obscurity for the same reason. Much of this music is comparable in quality to the marches of Sousa, Fillmore, R.B. Hall, and others, but is not commercially viable in reprint. An entire body of musical literature is about to be lost. There is an individual trying to get Congress to address this problem. The link below is to a petition on this matter. What you do about it is up to you. <http://www.petitiononline.com/eldred/petition.html> ------------- Bob Moody, director The Stonewall Brigade Band Continuous since 1855 Bandroom: 3 Gypsy Hill Park Staunton VA 24401 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.bobmoody.org Home: 936 Frog Pond Road Staunton VA 24401-8346 phone 540-885-3037 office 800-326-9192 cell 540-294-9791 fax 540-885-6670 _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
