At 11:29 AM +0200 9/4/05, Johannes Gebauer wrote:
Furthermore I'd like to add: there are special copyrights in Europe for publishing previously unpublished music. Even if a piece was composed 500 years ago a publisher can claim the "publication rights" which will, as far as I understand, give him the sole right for publication, and indeed performance (this is usually regulated through a special agency, where standard rates apply for performance).
There is something similar under U.S. law, although I've never read a clear explanation of it.
There is also the matter of private ownership of unique objects, which normally applies to works of graphic or plastic art but may also apply to musical unica. This has nothing to do with copyright per se, but strictly involves the right of the owner to grant or forbid access to the objects. In the case of music, then, while the music on the page may properly be in the public domain, the page itself is privately owned. My understanding is that this is the case with some (much?) of the music of Fanny Mendelssohn Henzle, which is owned and therefore controlled by a single individual in unique copies which he will not make available to scholars, let alone publishers. Under the special provisions Johannes cites above, if he were to publish them he would presumably control their copyrights for ... hmm, how long, I wonder?
John -- John & Susie Howell Virginia Tech Department of Music Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
