The owner of such a copyright would have a tough time making a claim against someone performing or even recording the tune and incorporating a minor tweak to the tune - it would be hard to prove that the variation to the tune didn't already exist in the public domain, especially in a folk genre. The major protection the copyright affords is against someone reprinting that exact typesetting or duplicating the entire or a substantial proportion of the collection because those represent significant works.
-----Original Message----- From: Gibbons, John [mailto:j.gibb...@imperial.ac.uk] Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 11:08 AM To: NSP group Subject: [NSP] Re: Copyright issues This explains why a lot of tune books in print have slightly tweaked versions of standard tunes - If these are reproduced, which would be unlikely to be accidental or on grounds of taste in many cases, there is then a potential claim for breach of copyright. John -----Original Message----- From: Simon Knight [mailto:si...@setanta-inc.com] Sent: 16 January 2009 14:30 To: 'NSP group' Subject: [NSP] Re: Copyright issues Publishing or recording a traditional tune or any tune in the public domain does not confer that person with any rights to the original tune itself. They do however have rights to their newly created intellectual property, i.e. the actual musical score or recording. Anyone can continue to perform the original tune, but you could not copy and sell their work. An arrangement of a public domain work can be copyrighted, but here it gets blurry. You would have to prove that there was significant new IP to successfully defend your claim, and you still gain no rights over the original work. -----Original Message----- From: colin [mailto:cwh...@santa-fe.freeserve.co.uk] Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 9:12 AM To: NSP group Subject: [NSP] Re: Copyright issues The more I read on this, the more confusing it sounds. It seems more linked to the PRS and stuff. May it be that actually publishing traditional stuff confers a copyright on it? So, a traditional tune collected or published by,say, the EFDSS, then becomes their property? Reading some sites brought up the old argument of the collectors collecting songs from old singers, recording them and thus obtaining the copyright over them and another story of the EFDSS : >From http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/12382/comments "The big argument re the EFDSS was that the year that "English Country Gardens" topped the hit parade ( a morris tune ), they accepted from the PRS a £200 cheque for ALL traditional music paid in Britain that year. There was then a drive ( I don't remember that it was A.L.Lloyd leading this ) to get all the bands musicians and singers to register all their music, even saying it was their arrangement if it was traditional, and by filling in all the PRS returns at every venue the EFDSS would get some more money, and each band and performer would get some too. In 30 years of playing in bands I think I've seen two of these forms." As said, if the composer isn't registered then the money goes to Michael Jackson or Paul McCartney. Must have been nice when the likes of Mr Allen just swapped and played tunes :) Colin Hill ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard York" <rich...@lizards.force9.co.uk> To: "NSP group" <nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu> Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 1:23 PM Subject: [NSP] Re: Copyright issues > > ... and let's not even lift small corner of the lid over the hell which > is the Public Entertainment Licence :-( > Richard > [1]julia....@nspipes.co.uk wrote: > > On 16 Jan 2009, [2]malcra...@aol.com wrote: > > > How does copyright effect performance.? > Especaillay if an enterance charge is made, > > For all "performances", paid or otherwise, and this includes sessions > in pubs, someone is supposed to sit there writing down everything that > is played. This list is then submitted to PRS along with 5% of the > takings at a paid event, and the royalties are distributed to any > registered copyright holders with the residue going to CC. And a non- > paying event gets charged for any copyright tunes. Some folk festivals > and sessions have already been clobbered by this. > > In practice, well..... you can imagine the reaction of the average > session musician - it doesn't take many fingers! At best, all tunes > suddenly become "trad." > > > or For example at a funeral? > > I am uncertain of the position in regards to "church" and / or > "private" events - which your example could be classified as. I think > there may be a dispensation. And then there's when does a private > party become a house session, or house concert..... > > Please, just don't go there!! <grin> > > Julia > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > [3]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > > -- > > References > > 1. mailto:julia....@nspipes.co.uk > 2. mailto:malcra...@aol.com > 3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > >
