Fair Use or Copyright Violation for Scores?

[74hc]

A couple of scenarios of whether it's a copyright violation or not:

1- I make changes to some of the sheet music we have legally purchased based upon whatever changes are needed. Some times it's a change to a verse, removal of some measures, changing a chord or two in a passage, a key change, adding bass lines. Stuff like that.

When others get a copy of it, is it considered fair use or a copyright violation if all the others also legally purchased the original score?

2- I use Piascore (or another similar app) and my iPad camera to photograph a score I legally purchased. Then I mark it up, and use it within Piascore electronically. Legal or not?

3- I photocopy a score that I legally purchased, mark it up, and use in in a performance. The photocopy stays in my performance binder for subsequent performances while the original is kept in my filing cabinet. Legal or not?

These questions have generated some discussion among my fellow musicians in our choir group. So what do you think?

I should also mention the legally purchased scores that I own have this language on the inside cover in fine print:

"None of the pages in this book may be reproduced in any way without written permission from the publisher and the copyright holder"

I've tried in the past to contact them on whether what I do above is legal or not, but I never hear back. That language seems to run afoul of the fair use doctrine as I understand it. It basically says we cannot make backup copies, or another copy.

 

[studebakerhawk]

I am not a lawyer, so take anything I have to say for what it's worth.

Short answer: If you make a copy in any way without the copyright holder's permission, it is a copyright violation. If you distribute copies, that is another violation. If you perform the work in front of an audience, that is another violation, although there is an exemption for religious services. Fair use is determined by courts on a case-by-case basis, based on the purpose and character of use, nature of the work, amount used, and the economic impact of the use (More Information on Fair Use | U.S. Copyright Office). If you need multiple copies of a score for a group performance, you're supposed to pay for them, or have a license for multiple copies.

That being said, making copies for personal, noncommercial use is generally considered acceptable. That's why we were able to have VCRs and such. You've got all the bases covered ethically, and since you're not impacting the market value of the the work, it's probably not worth it to anyone to send a lawyer after you. I wouldn't expect the publisher to respond to your query because it's probably not worth it to them to have their lawyer look at it.

 

[Seanmo]

No one here can offer you legal advice unless they are an attorney as it is actually illegal to practice law if you are not an attorney. It is also not in the interest of a publisher to answer your question as they have nothing to gain by weighing in.

I cannot afford to hire an attorney every time I have a question or two like yours. But in my own case I operate on the assumption that I can pretty much do whatever I want with sheet music that I purchase with the exception of making it available to others. That includes making changes to it and then making it available to others. That is, I assume I cannot take "Hey Jude" change a few notes and then make copies of it available to others either for charge or for free. Doing so could potentially deprive the music publisher/songwriter of income.

 

[SteveCS]

A couple of scenarios of whether it's a copyright violation or not:

1- I make changes to some of the sheet music we have legally purchased based upon whatever changes are needed. Some times it's a change to a verse, removal of some measures, changing a chord or two in a passage, a key change, adding bass lines. Stuff like that.

When others get a copy of it, is it considered fair use or a copyright violation if all the others also legally purchased the original score?

2- I use Piascore (or another similar app) and my iPad camera to photograph a score I legally purchased. Then I mark it up, and use it within Piascore electronically. Legal or not?

3- I photocopy a score that I legally purchased, mark it up, and use in in a performance. The photocopy stays in my performance binder for subsequent performances while the original is kept in my filing cabinet. Legal or not?

These questions have generated some discussion among my fellow musicians in our choir group. So what do you think?

I should also mention the legally purchased scores that I own have this language on the inside cover in fine print:

"None of the pages in this book may be reproduced in any way without written permission from the publisher and the copyright holder"

I've tried in the past to contact them on whether what I do above is legal or not, but I never hear back. That language seems to run afoul of the fair use doctrine as I understand it. It basically says we cannot make backup copies, or another copy.

From what I've seen in education, fair use extends to making copies for markup and use in lessons. One could argue that rehearsal is a type of lesson. If you copy your markup and give a copy, in rehearsal, to someone else who has paid to use the score but, like you, doesn't want to mark up their original, that's also probably fair. IP in the markup, if any exists, will be yours, not the original publisher's, so you can do what you like with it.
In examination performances, students are required to present with original scores, not copies. Presumably your band performs without scores, so that shouldn't be an issue for you, although it sounds like you have that covered in any event.