Hi, > >Also I can answer the sheet music copyright one, having looked into this a > >lot myself because I'm partially sighted and need to enlarge music: > > So can I put this into the FAQ ? Yes, of course! > > 3. In some countries, the same applies for editions. This could be > > Do you know what countries? I'm afraid not! I just read "some countries" in an article written by someone at the Performing Rights Society in a recorder players' magazine. > how do you find out > when an edition is printed? A lot of the sheet music I know does not > carry (c) signs. Odd. All the music I've ever seen has at least a printing date on it, even if it's as early as the 1900s. Maybe this is a difference between our countries. I don't see how they can expect you to honour a date-based copyright law if they don't put the date on the work. It seems that most music that is newly bought in shops is still in publisher copyright, but tatty old copies from your grandmother's attic probably won't be. > Nitpicking: not the copyright is overriden (whatever they say, the > composers will continue to hold the copyright), but the copying > restrictions they impose on us. Good point. References - best one I know is the UK-based Performing Right Society, http://www.prs.co.uk/ (especially "membership") and their links to other international equivalents. In particular: http://www.prs.co.uk/prs.nsf/sitepages/copyright?OpenDocument What is the length of copyright in the UK? >From 1.1.96 it is due to become 70 years from the year of the author's death where the author was an EEA national. What is the length of copyright overseas? It varies but from 1.7.95 all EEA countries were due to introduce the 70 years rule. also http://www.prs.co.uk/prs.nsf/sitepages/overseas?OpenDocument http://www.prs.co.uk/prs.nsf/sitepages/arrangements?OpenDocument http://www.prs.co.uk/prs.nsf/sitepages/copyrightuk?OpenDocument There is also a very good page on copyright laws and the rights of blind people across the world on RNIB's site, although it is not music-specific. The URL is http://www.rnib.org.uk/wesupply/publicat/copyr2.htm I'm afraid that most of the things I've read I don't remember where I read them though! Sorry! Regards -- Silas S Brown, St John's College Cambridge UK http://www.biosys.net/silas/ (Not using my usual mail program) "Let us not become egotistical, stirring up competition with one another, envying one another" - Galatians 5:26
