Is Chopin, Bach or like Classical music Copyright Protected

[drenched]

Is Chopin Bach or like Classical music Copyright Protected?

Just wondering where copyright protection begins in history or if it was public and has since been bought and now private

[thope]

the actual music isnt copyrighted but a recording of it is copyrighted to who ever released the cd

[Robert U]

As it is today any song is copyrighted for 70 years. It used to be 50 and the reason why they changed it was that they noticed that some old songs were to be free. There is a lot of money involved in this and my guess is that they'll probably change it again.

I know this was a little bit OT but I couldn't help myself [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

-Robert

[Avid]

I believe Barbara Bach gets all of the royalties from Johann's work, in addition to half of Ringo's. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

I think you are in the clear as far as the original classical music, but a newer arrangement of same may be copyrighted.

There are many here on the DUC that would know the details much better than I would, but a search on Google brought up a site with some brief inormation on music in the public domain.
According to www.pdinfo.com

Countries other than the US may offer copyright protection for 70 years or more after the death of the author.* There is no such thing as an "international copyright".* If you wish to use a song outside of the United States, you must check the copyright laws for each individual country where you use the song.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">More on International Copyright Law Here:
http://www.pdinfo.com/copyrt.htm

International Copyright Law
The Berne Convention is an international treaty standardizing copyright protection since 1886.* In 1994* a "General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT)"* was signed by 117 countries, and the World Trade Organization (WTO) was created in Geneva, Switzerland, to enforce compliance with the agreement.* GATT includes a section covering copyrights called the "Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property" (TRIPS). * U.S. law was amended to be essentially consistent with GATT by the "Uruguay Round Agreements Act" (URAA) in 1994.* Many countries provide 95 years copyright protection, but until 1998 the US only protected works for 75 years.* URAA provided that the US would provide copyright protection equal to that granted in the home country for a foreign work first published outside the US if a Notice to Enforce (NIE) is filed.* Therefore any composition registered between 1904 and 1922 is NOT in the public domain if a NIE *has been filed with the US copyright office by a foreign copyright holder.* Despite GATT, copyright protection varies greatly from country to country, and extreme caution must be exercised on all* international usage of any intellectual property. * An attorney or rights clearance organization is absolutely necessary for any international use of music.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">If you are talking about using someone else's recording of a classical song for profit, then you are looking at a different situation, as this item from the Public Domain Information Project website points out:

I have a recording of "Aura Lee".* Can I use it in my film?.
No.* Even though the song "Aura Lee" is in the public domain, virtually all sound recordings are under copyright protection until around the year 2067* You will either have to make your own recording from a public domain source or obtain a license to use an existing recording.* There are claims on the internet that sound recordings made in the U.S. prior to 1972 are in the public domain.* We have had these claims reviewed by several attorneys who have emphatically told us that this is NOT true. * It is imperative that you consult an attorney before using a pre-1972 recording that you believe to be in the public domain.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">

[drenched]

Thanks for the replies, no I would not want to use someone elses recording or arrangment...just to be able to play the music of the songs myself and put that on a CD.

I sounds like I would just need to be sure that my notation was the original and not redone.

[pnoise]

I think if a song is over 100 years old, then it it is c onsidered "in the public domain". Check out www.pubdomain.com

[gandalf07]

In Canada, a song becomes Public Domain when the composer as been dead for 50 years. You can record any classical song that the composer is dead since 1952 but you can't just take any CD from the London Symphonie Orchestra to put into an ad or movie without paying the musicians and the right to use that particuliar CD. The song itself is public domain but the recordings of that song aren't. Hope it helps...

[MattiMattMatt]

The reason Stravinsky rewrote Petrouchka (maybe it was Firebird), was because the original had slipped into public domain and he needed a new, protected version in order to get paid. As of '76, you don't need to file in order to enjoy copyright protection, but there were a number of hoops prior to '76 in order to insure copyright.

There are 2 types of copyright:

c = copyright in the composition.
p = copyright in the recording.

There are also certain instances ("the doctorine of fair use") in which you do not need permission to use copyrighted material, e.g. educational use, parody, etc.

In general, old, classical music is all in the public domain.

[Lee Blaske]

In general, old, classical music is all in the public domain.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">In general, this is certainly true, although a new edition of such music in which a musicologist has corrected, changed, illuminated, etc. the score may be copyrighted. I'm not aware of cases where performers were sued for using, for example, a particular ornament specified in a recent edition, but anything could happen.

This doesn't relate to classical instrumental music, but children's music is another area to be on your toes. There are lots of well known tunes that have been around since dirt, and one would assume that they're in public domain. Some of these tunes, however, have generally accepted lyrics that are much more recent, and often still copyrighted.

Lee Blaske

[MattiMattMatt]

Originally posted by Lee Blaske:
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">In general, old, classical music is all in the public domain.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">In general, this is certainly true, although a new edition of such music in which a musicologist has corrected, changed, illuminated, etc. the score may be copyrighted. I'm not aware of cases where performers were sued for using, for example, a particular ornament specified in a recent edition, but anything could happen.

<hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Doesn't happen. Otherwise, the moment something entered the public domain, unemployed music majors would simply re-publish with minor changes and re-establish private ownership. Just as the courts don't recognize common musical gestures, such as scales, they do not recognize an editor's embellishments either.

The book may be copyrighted, but not the music contained in it, much the way the copyright protection of a recording does not extend to the music (public or private) contained in it.

-M.M.M.