Resources by Subject: MUS3308: Principles and Methods of Teaching Music in Secondary Schools: Music Copyright

Basic Copyright Rules

General Copyright Overview

The current copyright term is the lifetime of the creator plus 70 years.
When copyright expires, the work becomes public domain. The public domain refers to works that are no longer protected by copyright materials.
Copyright exists as soon as an item is created, it no longer needs to be registered.
Ideas can’t be copyrighted, only the tangible expression in a fixed medium of the idea can.
Always assume copyright exists.
Copyrighted materials can be used in certain circumstances under the Fair Use Doctrine.
Creators can allow their work to be reproduced, remixed, and used without permission by applying Creative Common licenses to them.

Music

The work has a separate copyright from the item (score, CD, etc.). So a symphony could be in the public domain, but if a new edition of the score was published last year, it will have its own copyright
Most performances of copyrighted works require a license with the exception of "face-to-face" teaching
Where a copy is allowed under fair use, you can make one copy of sheet music per student.

Music Copyright Overview

Music Copyright Tutorials
Created by the William & Mary Music Library, these tutorials provide an overview to music copyright for musical compositions and sound recordings.

Copyright Basics

MTNA Copyright Guidelines for Music Teachers
Q&A on copyright as it relates to fair use, copyrighted material, educational use, recitals and recordings, etc.
MLA Copyright FAQs
Copyright FAQs for music librarians
Copyright Law: What Music Teachers Need to Know
From the National Association for Music Education
Copyright Libguide
A guide providing more information related to copyright.
The Ins and Outs of Copying Sheet Music
Guidelines for teachers on copying sheet music

What is the Creative Commons?

Currently in the US, any work created since 1978 is automatically copyrights for the life of the creator plus 70 years. In recognizing the need for creators to build off the works of others, the Creative Commons licenses were created to allow creators to make their work available for others to use. There are six different creative commons licenses:

Attribution CC BY

This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation.

Attribution ShareAlike CC BY-SA

This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms.

Attribution-NoDerivs CC BY-ND

This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to you.

Attribution-NonCommercial CC BY-NC

This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA

This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms.

Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND

This license is the most restrictive of our six main licenses, only allowing others to download your works and share them with others as long as they credit you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.