Legal Issues
Copyright
Will Lines (Music Publishers Association [MPA])
The concept of copyright is central to the lives of musicians,
both composers and performers, and yet its legal basis
and practical implications often remain misunderstood,
misconstrued or simply ignored. In essence copyright grants
the creator of an original work exclusive rights to its use and
distribution, usually for a limited time, with the intention of
enabling the creator to receive compensation for their work.
The legal framework for copyright in UK is the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988 [CDPA] as amended.
Copyright automatically subsists in a
musical or literary work (including lyrics)
provided it is original and has been fixed
in some way, eg recorded or written down.
The creator enjoys sole right to copy, lend,
perform, communicate and adapt their work
and under the CDPA also has moral right to
be identified as creator of the work and to
object to derogatory treatment.
scores or parts of a work cannot be found from a legitimate
source you can always contact the publisher of the work who
may be able to help. You should also contact the publisher to
seek permission for making an arrangement of a copyright
work. Contact details for most music publishers in UK are
available
from MPA website www.mpaonline.org.
uk/directory. If you are not sure which
publisher to contact with regard to a given
work you can contact MPA office who
usually have that information and may
also advise on availability of printed
editions of works. State maintained
schools in England and Northern
Ireland are permitted to copy music
and to make arrangements under the
recently introduced Schools Printed
Music Licence, which is also available to
schools in Wales and Scotland, although
this permission is limited to classroom
teaching only. For more information see
http://schools.cla.co.uk/about-your-licences/
schools-printed-music-licence/
Copyright terms
In UK, copyright in a musical work
lasts for a period of 70 years from end
of the calendar year in which the last
surviving composer or author dies. The
work of musical arrangers and editors
also benefits from copyright protection.
Sound recordings will have separate
copyright protection, normally owned by
the producer of the recording; the term of
this protection has recently been extended to 70 yrs
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