Hi guys - Thanks so much for the quick reply. I guess I wasn't clear. The question wasn't really about if I need to copyright but regarding Mandatory Deposit rules (for a published work) as my work has never been printed (other than some test sheets when preparing the PDF's). Yes, I have spoken with the Library of Congress as well as a couple of lawyers. Evidently, a derivative work (e.g. with new words, music, etc.) is actually a new work with a copyright all its own. And don't get me started on lawyers...
What I'm wondering about is the fact that the score is only in PDF form. But after posting, I read the following on the gov web site: What works may be registered with electronic deposits? The following classes of works may be registered in eCO with electronic deposit copies: 1. Unpublished works; 2. Works published only electronically... Does that means my situation as I'm not planning on preparing a bound copy for the forseeable future? The copyright office wasn't clear when I asked them about this over the phone. I just thought other folks on this board must have been uploading scores via the eCO system rather than sending in physical copies. Has anyone been doing this? Feedback appreciated. Thanks again, Aryeh http://www.RocknMoses.com http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aryeh-Har-Even/93404883886 DP 5.13 Finale 2007 10.4.11 MacBook Pro 2.16, 2GB ram ULN-2 Glyph Drives David H. Bailey wrote: I am not a lawyer (and even if I were, any advice you receive in a free on-line group such as this is worth exactly what you paid for it), but this is my understanding of how copyright works for derivative works: You own the copyright in the original work, therefore you already own the copyright in all the derivative works. There is no need to register this under a separate copyright. Simply put the same copyright notice you already have on the original. Save yourself the registration fee. Of course, if you have any doubt you should consult a copyright attorney in your area, preferably one who work in the music field especially. David H. Bailey Aryeh Har-Even wrote: > Hi group - I figured this would be a good place to get an answer to this > question. > > I'm about to register a work of mine with the Library of Congress. The work > is a revised version of a musical I had previously registered thus making > this a derivate work. Everything is in PDF via Finale and comes in at just over 600 pages. Question: can I just upload the PDF files with the eCO online system? And should I state that the work is unpublished? (I don't believe the work would be considered published as only a few execerpts have been posted on my web page and nothing has been for sale, rent, etc. Just a few scenes given to friends and family on CD for their personal listening pleasure.) But if I do list the work as published, will I have to submit two copies to satisfy the Manditaroy requirement? I had never heard of this till recently. At any rate, the work is only in digital form, i.e. PDF, so would the copyright office expect me to print out and bind two copies just for them? Thanks so much in advance, Aryeh http://www.RocknMoses.com http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aryeh-Har-Even/93404883886 DP 5.13 Finale 2007 10.4.11 MacBook Pro 2.16, 2GB ram ULN-2 Glyph Drives ____________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > Finale at shsu.edu > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale -- David H. Bailey dhbailey at davidbaileymusicstudio.co _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
