Moral/copyright dilemma (long)

In My Humble Opinion
1

I sing in a large (150+) city chorus. We are quite well known, pay our conductor, orchestra, and soloists, and charge admission to concerts. The members are (with the exception of a few paid ringers) amateurs who pay dues and receive no remuneration. Many times, instead of buying or borrowing music, we sing from photocopied scores. We’ll do this if the music is hard to get hold of or very expensive, or (most often) if the conductor has a lot of markings he wants to put in beforehand. Most of the music we sing is long out of copyright, but the editions we photocopy often are not. Members are charged the cost of the copying, but nothing in addition (that is, the chorus isn’t making any money from the copies).

It seems to me that making 150 copies of a copyrighted edition and passing them out is a pretty clear copyright violation. And (especially since I work for a publisher), it seems to me that I ought to be opposing this. So I have several questions. One is factual. Am I right that this is a copyright violation? Some people in the chorus have told me every person is entitled to make one copy for their own personal use, and this is all that’s happening—the chorus is just facilitating it for us by having all the copies made at once. But I’m not sure that argument works, because I remember that professors were forbidden from photocopying textbooks for their classes, even though that was just one copy for each student’s personal use.

If we are breaking the law, what should I do about it? I can make my objections known, of course, and I have, quite vocally. They seem to think it’s kind of cute of me to worry about this. They say (which is true) that all choruses do it, and that if any publisher objects, they’ll deal with it then.

I could call a publisher and blow the whistle on the chorus. This would make everyone hate me, and I’m not sure what, if anything, the publisher would do. I really don’t want to do this because I love the chorus. I don’t want to make trouble for it (and I don’t want everyone to hate me). And it seems awfully overdramatic.

I could quit the chorus, refusing to take part in an illegal activity. I doubt anyone in the chorus would care much, and I’d miss it a lot. It wouldn’t make any difference in the situation.

I could do nothing, figuring that I’ve stated my position as clearly as I can, and that’s all that is required of me. Obviously this is what I want to do, but I wonder if I’m being a coward and a hypocrite.

What do you think?

2

You could first contact the publishers of the music and find out what they consider a violation of their copyright. You could possibly be worrying over nothing.

Is someone/thing profiting from the chorus’ singing? You mentioned that they charged for concert admission. If so, I’d report them. People come to the concerts for the music they choose to play, and if they’re stealing the music in order to attract customers, then they’re screwing the music publishers out of their rightful royalties.

If you’re not comfortable reporting them, I’d go with quitting, tough as that is. Standing up for what you believe in is rarely pleasant and you often have to sacrifice to do it.

3

From what you said, it sounds like they’re buying a single copy of the music then making copies so everyone can learn it. Having help put on two musicals, generally there is no problem with photocopying the music that you buy for everyone to learn it. I don’t think any publisher would expect you to buy 150 copies of the same music, nor any music store carry 150 copies. They’re generally priced and marked that it can be used in that manner.

You could always call to check but I doubt their really doing anything that is effecting, bothering or otherwise bringing about the ire of the publisher.

4

If I were you, I’d buy my own copy of the music, but let the rest of the chorus do what they see fit.

5

Interesting. I feel for your dilemma. To me, that’s akin to buying sweatshirts with a licensed image on it from someone you’re sure is not paying the licensing fees. I refuse to do that. BUt I can’t stop others from doing it. I would probably do what Even Sven has advocated. It wouldn’t hurt to see if the music is available on-line. It may be that the chorus could down-load it for free.

StG

6

Alto,
Based on what you’ve said, I think that what your chorus is doing is copyright infringement. What I would do is to check the original copy of the music that was purchased to see if there is a copyright license on it. Chances are there is. This license will tell you if you can make copies for an entire chorus. If the music only has the copyright bug, circle “c”, then you’d be allowed to make copies for personal use, i.e. the person who bought it could make copies for him/herself, but no others. The idea that you can make one copy for everyone is simply wrong. You aren’t allowed to do this unless the copyright holder allows you to.

So, what should you do? Quit worrying. Its unlikely that your chorus will ever get into trouble over this. However, it may be useful for you to access the Library of Congress website to obtain some of the materials that they have published concerning copyright. Use this to educate your fellow chorusters. Better yet, contact a local IP attorney to give you a pro bono opinion on this issue. At the very least, make sure that the chorus knows the rules and then buy your own copy of the music. No need to go down with the ship should anything break open.

cj

p.s. I am an intellectual property attorney, but what I have just written is my personal opinion and not a legal opinion. You need to sit down with an attorney and give him or her the details to get a valid legal opinion.

7

HideoHo my experience is almost exactly the opposite of yours. In that there has been a problem with photocopying the music for people to learn. (I have also had the experiences where people didn’t care that it was a problem, and where people knew it was a problem, but were counting on not getting caught.)

Alto, I like even sven’s suggestion. Point out that it’s a problem, and buy your own copy so at the very least, you aren’t actively contributing to the theft.

8

Technically, it is copyright infringment. You cannot make copies without permission, since only the copyright holder has the right to make copies. Older, public domain works (anything older than 1924, and some works later if the copyrights weren’t renewed) can be copied freely.

And, no. You are not allowed to make a copy for personal use (unless you are a library). People believe this myth because software often grants you this right, but they’re only granting it because you don’t have it already (you can’t grant someone a right they already have). And the fact that the chorus isn’t making any money is irrelevant; the copyright law does not differentiate as to whether you charge or not.

Now, as to what would be done – it’s up to the publisher. Music publishers are usually quite aggressive in enforcing their rights, so they most likely will get nasty if they find out. They would first send a letter from their lawyer ordering you to desist. If you don’t do so, they can take you to court, the penalties are severe, and you cannot win. If they want to play hardball, they could easily put your choir out of business.

The best course would be to buy legal copies of the music. It’s possible that you may be able to get a discount if you buy in bulk.

There’s also the issue of ASCAP fees. You could get a nasty message from them if you perform in a public venue where they are required (and the venue doesn’t pay them).

9

And here I was worrying about the Maryland sniper all month. Thanks for letting us know about the real issues we should be concerned about. :rolleyes: