As no one else seems to be discussing these issues right now, I will
consolidate my thoughts on the situation.
There seem to be four categories of music:
o Urtext music or an edition/arrangement which is entirely out of
copyright.
o Music edited especially for Mutopia, the notes are out of copyright
but the edited remarks aren't.
o Music arranged especially for Mutopia, although the tune is out of
copyright, the notes themselves aren't.
o Music that isn't out of copyright, the use of which on Mutopia has
been allowed by the composer.
Now I agree that the latter three would benefit from some sort of
copylefting, I'm not sure if we could copyright/copyleft the first one
as it is entirely the work of someone who died over seventy years ago.
After all, if people want to include it in works that are copyrighted
(that you can't duplicate), what is to stop them claiming that they
have just got a copy of Lilypond and entered in the notes themselves?
It would be like trying to copyleft a text file of an out-of-copyright
book, which must surely be impossible.
Basically I'd like to get Mutopia up and running very soon, even if it
will only take "Urtext" editions for the time being.
Does anyone have any major objections to placing urtext music on Mutopia
in the public domain?
Chris
PS. My fdn.co.uk address will cease to be valid in ten days time so
please use my usa.net as a temporary measure for the time being.
--
Chris Sawer - Sussex, England - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
