Tune Copyright

Where is the best place to copyright/register pipe music?
My daughter has wrote a couple of tunes for her music higher and there are some folks "Wanting to have a look/Use for there bands" I know that one of the individuals has a record of "borrowing" tunes and putting his name on them. Would appriciate any help from the "dark side" of the force.

Ian

try the musicians union m8 - or try the old recorded delivery to yourself and dont open it !!!!

b4 you record the delivery go to bank &try to get the manager to date &stamp it. Then seal, send & put away safe.
Cheers

Good on her Ian, nice that her tunes are deemed worthy of another's appreciation and wanting to be played.

No idea how to go about it, but someone wanting to use it is in itself an honour IMO.
Recognition should be awarded to the composer.
Nice 1.

Redneck wrote:Good on her Ian, nice that her tunes are deemed worthy of another's appreciation and wanting to be played.

No idea how to go about it, but someone wanting to use it is in itself an honour IMO.
Recognition should be awarded to the composer.
Nice 1.

Aye its good that someone wants to use it, she hasn`t a problem with that, its just a certain "individual" has previous on this matter.

Thanks for all the help

Ian

Its easy to copyright anything,

All you need to do is put a 'C' in a circle on the printed matter

Enforcing copyright is vastly different

The simplest way to prove it, is get a solicter to date stamp a copy, and keep it for you.

In the case of someone using the tune and putting their name on it, this is called theft of intellectual property, and is a police matter under the theft act in the first place, thereafter a matter for compensation through the civil courts.

I am good mates with Phil Greer, he has written a lot of stuff that is widely played, he has no problem with people playing his stuff, but he, and I agree, that it would be good manners to be asked.

Easy with guys like him, Ryan Canning etc, that can be found at any competition, slightly different trying to contact the estate of G S MacLennan

There are, or at least have been, people on Ebay selling compilations of tunes for profit, with no compensation for the composer, ebay has no problem with this,, which is also theft, but try selling a set of 1900 ivory pipes!

In this case, I would have a friendly solictor date stamp it for you, I would also add a sentence to the bottom of the manuscript stating that the material is subject to copyright and may not be reproduced or used without the composers permission.

In an extreme case, you could have a band excluded form a competition if they played it!

I would be inclined to use a solictitor rather than a banker, as the will be happy to do it on a regular basis, and if you do decide to go after someone, they will be aware of what is happening, and they will be cheaper in the long run anyway if its a regular thing, plus if the day comes when you might want publication in book form, you will need one anyway

cheers

( feckin' love this wee smiley) class. Good one Gordy m8. ( ya get measured fer yer Drumlough gear yet m8.....we need ya )

Fact is, you might be wasting your money on copyright. If someone really wants to play a tune they will do it. Copyright or not. All they need to do is slightly adapt the tune and re-name it. One very famous PM is pretty good at that.

When I was playing in Tayside Police, Iain Duncan brought a tune up that one of his mates wrote, when he got punted there were all sorts of legal threats going on because he did not want the band to play that tune anymore. It was discussed at length before the band eventually changed to a different opener. But if we really wanted to play it we could have just changed some things within the body of the tune and called it something different and registerd it as a different tune entirely, even though it may have sounded like the same tune it was not.

Best thing to do would be to have the tune published under your daughters name and get it known, less chance of it being stolen if it is in the public domain.

Tankie i've said this in the other forum but you might see it here first. because she has done it within the examinatoins of the sqa they currently hold the copy right. They do for all tunes written within their courses.

Seems a bit pirate attitude that?.........bit of a liberty eh?

A wee bit. TBH i duno why they do it... but i know that they do. It's th same with some other subjects where original designs have to be made (tech etc and computnig spring to mind)

Here.. on second thoughts.. just put on the tune

"if copied and false name of composer given... 1RTR will hunt you down like a dog!"

Redneck wrote:Seems a bit pirate attitude that?.........bit of a liberty eh?

Of course its a liberty,

Thats what the Pipe band association does,

For example, A band pays an entry fee for a competition, thats odd for a start, without the bands there would not be a competition,

Then at that competition, the RSPBA makes cd's. dvds, takes photos etc, with out permission, they then sell these with no financial reward to us, the artists, and with no acknowledgement at all.

Do the same thing in the local omniplex and you'll get a day in court, or sell copies at a Sunday market, same result.

Time they were pulled over this, and were made to give proper credit and repayment to the artists.

Even a dozen free copies of the worlds CD's to each band would probably suffice


cheers

Gordy88 wrote:

Redneck wrote:Seems a bit pirate attitude that?.........bit of a liberty eh?

Of course its a liberty,

Thats what the Pipe band association does,

For example, A band pays an entry fee for a competition, thats odd for a start, without the bands there would not be a competition,

Then at that competition, the RSPBA makes cd's. dvds, takes photos etc, with out permission, they then sell these with no financial reward to us, the artists, and with no acknowledgement at all.

Do the same thing in the local omniplex and you'll get a day in court, or sell copies at a Sunday market, same result.

Time they were pulled over this, and were made to give proper credit and repayment to the artists.

Even a dozen free copies of the worlds CD's to each band would probably suffice


cheers

They already have your permission, so to speak. As function owners they own the performance and recording rights, which you agree with by default when your band entered the competition.

Under normal copyright guidelines, any performances, or writing or creating on behalf of an employer or organisation, the copyrights belong to the organisation or employer.
This is how's it's been for years, (here at least), admittedly it has changed in the last few years to take in to account all the changes in technology and all that goes with it and I'm not up to date with all the changes. however I doubt the performance side of it has changed much.

Robbie, it's under these guidelines that the school gets to keep copyright of compositions from courses.

I have said it before, and will do again, I never ceased to be amazed at the knowledge of various things Pipe Band related, that is available on here, just shows that folks are not always taking the proverbial and can be serious when required.

Thanks Janelle,

I was pretty sure they would have it well sewn up,

Wonder how they will feel,(not might feel) when the day comes that there is a breakaway pipe band association?

Without bands, and interested non band members, there would be no contests, nor would there be a need for judges, and coming after some spectacularly odd judging decisions recently, that won't be a hardship.

The RSPBA is fed, clothed, and housed by bandsmen and women, its about time those bandsmen and women were treated correctly

cheers

The best bet is just to contact the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society, (MCPS) and register the composer's name with them.

Their remit is "MCPS is able to offer free advice on the recording of copyright music and is able to arrange the licences required for the use of its members music in TV, film, video and audio-visual productions". Duncan McCrone of the MCPS specialises in trad and pipe tunes, he has written articles for the Piping Times regarding pipe music.

The most recent address I have for the Scottish MCPS branch is;

MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society)
Duncan McCrone
3 ST. GEORGE'S STUDIOS,
93-97 ST GEORGE'S ROAD GLASGOW G3 6JA

tel : 0141 333 1158
Email: Duncan.mccrone@mcps.co.uk