Issue about copyright of MuseScore uploading
I'm wondering if one can upload ANY score they want on MuseScore. (because on MuseScore.com I've seen tons of scores of pop songs which are of course copyright-perserved)
I have a score that's adapted from a copyright-perserved score which was bought from online shops whom we promised that the score would not be of any commercial usage. After my embellishment the score was used in our choir contest, which is the reason why it's so memorable to us. I really want to upload it on MuseScore so that everyone can see and enjoy the score again, so I'm here to ask whether I can do that. I would very much like to hear from developers or any expert that knows well in this field about copyright. Thousands of thanks to you.
Comments
Please ask this question in https://musescore.com/groups/improving-musescore-com/
In reply to Please ask this question in… by Jojo-Schmitz
Forward to https://musescore.com/groups/improving-musescore-com/discuss/5028759
(as I would really like to hear from more musicians about this issue)
In reply to Forward to https://musescore… by Howard-C
Hm, musicians will tell you the wrong things: It's a legal issue. As you can read, the 5 answers given so far proove my point. E.g., this one is wishful thinking or guessing, and will certainly not stand in court: https://musescore.com/groups/improving-musescore-com/discuss/5028759#co… .
To give you an idea just have a look at a so called commentary. It contains all paragraphs of one and only one law AND a compilation of all verdicts assiciated to each and every paragraph. That's why these commentaries result in yuite thick books, like this one on German Copyrights: https://www.amazon.de/Praxiskommentar-zum-Urheberrecht-UrhG-InfoSoc-RL/…
If you sign in, you can run to an equivalent online version at https://dejure.org/gesetze/UrhG , and focus on music only. Compare your findings to said 5 (and more in future) replies from musicians ...
The difference between these two sources: dejure points you to individual verdicts, while a commentary sums up the legal understanding of judges from all those verdicts.
If you badly want to show your work to the world, the best you can do is to move to save legal grounds before publishing, be it on musescore or elsewhere. But that's up to you ...
That's a severe and complicated legal issue, many musicians do not care about. It's already complicated, when you restrict copy-rights to one country, and it won't get better on an international level.
E.g. even if you yourself made sure, the notes bought (with whatever rights and limitations associated to it) where treated conform to rights granted to you ... how can you possibly make sure, nobody else will use it for commercial use lateron? And if somebody goes after it, how will you be able to protect yourself from litigations?
So you are right not to keep copy-rights lighthearted.
In contrast to laws of nature there cannot be a definite answer to your question, as it depends on your specific circumstances, the specifics of your source, the specifics of later users of your publication and so on. If in doubt, do not publish what you modified (which is and cannot be a legal advice, just a legal layman's impression).
Best, Michael
In reply to That's a severe and… by MS-SPO
Thanks for your eply! (It's really a pity)
In reply to Thanks for your eply! (It's… by Howard-C
While this is all true in general, as far as I know Ultimate Guitar, the new owner of MuseScore, has argeements with many publishers in place that covers publishing scores on musescore.com.
I'm not sure about any of the dteails though, that's why I directed you to ask that question on musescore.com.
Another question is also whether there's a difference in publishing there or attaching scores here.
In reply to While this is all true in… by Jojo-Schmitz
Would be interesting to know, how far UG covers co-creation, i.e. creative modifications of an original piece of music (that's what the thread opener probably has done). E.g. under German jurisdiction co-creation has wide ranging effects on use, modifications etc. of co-created works ....
I won't rely on "UG will keep everything from me" ...
In reply to Would be interesting to know… by MS-SPO
Then read https://musescore.com/groups/improving-musescore-com/discuss/5028759#co…, which is the official answer I was aiming at.
In reply to Then read https://musescore… by Jojo-Schmitz
I know, see my citation above: So far I won't take legal comfort from the answers given. They are simply too simple.
In reply to I know, see my citation… by MS-SPO
YouTube has a similar mechanism and it seems to work fairly well?
In reply to YouTube has a similar… by Jojo-Schmitz
Would you bet your life or four private fortune on it?
As I said, I'm not a lawyer, which I should be to give a qualified answer to your remark. Let me put it that way: If I spot problems in what the thread opener wanted to do, what will a specialized lawyer spot? What I know is that we as layman like to draw analogies, e.g. to youtube, which do fail miserably on a regular base in court on the specific case.
I think I made my point.
In reply to Would you bet your life or… by MS-SPO
No, of course I wouldn't. That's why all my scores are still marked private (and the secret links shared with only my fellow choir members).
The answers given on musescore.com so far are not yet 100% satisfying or waterproof, esp. the question of who gets hold liable, the MuseScore/Ultimate Guitar company or the individual user.
In reply to No, of course I wouldn't… by Jojo-Schmitz
How can you share "secret links" with a few people if they're already secret lol
I would love to learn that. Can help me a lot.
In reply to How can you share "secret… by Howard-C
When a score is set to private, there's still the share button in the website, it gives a link you can send to others. So with that link they can get to that score (without being loggend even), but the public will not see it listed anywhere.
In reply to when a score is set to… by Jojo-Schmitz
Thanks ;)