# Finding out who owns a copyright on sheet music

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-who-owns-a-copyright-on-sheet-music/561065>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 18, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-who-owns-a-copyright-on-sheet-music/561065 "2010-11-18T04:08:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-who-owns-a-copyright-on-sheet-music/561065/1 "2010-11-18T04:08:06Z")

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So, I’m working on a musicology paper at the present, that involves a piece of music that I THOUGHT was public domain, but isn’t; I have on very good authority that it is copyrighted. Which if you knew the tune I was talking about (and I can’t divulge that, terribly sorry), is surprising along the lines of [Happy Birthday](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2345/are-blue-jays-not-really-blue-plus).

Short of harassing ASCAP (and that hasn’t been working), is there a way of finding out who composed my mystery piece, when, and what the precise sheet music for it is, if it exists in print?

Any advice as to what direction to start off in would be greatly appreciated!

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**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-who-owns-a-copyright-on-sheet-music/561065/2 "2010-11-18T04:11:46Z")

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If you have a title, how about searching ASCAP & BMI’s catalogs, for starters? Or, for that matter, just googling the title or some lines from it?

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**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-who-owns-a-copyright-on-sheet-music/561065/3 "2010-11-18T04:19:08Z")

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My Goodness, I think I may have found it. You’re my hero.

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**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-who-owns-a-copyright-on-sheet-music/561065/4 "2010-11-18T12:32:59Z")

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> [@antonio107](#):
>
> My Goodness, I think I may have found it. You’re my hero.

Great. Next I was going to ask you to hum a few bars. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-out-who-owns-a-copyright-on-sheet-music/561065/5 "2010-11-18T16:00:42Z")

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It’s Twinkle Twinkle Little Star isn’t it? But what about the ABC song? Plagarism or fair use? And Baa Baa Black Sheep, you’re not going to tell me the similarities are just a “coincidence” are you?