[Dixielandjazz] arrangement copyrights

[Ric Giorgi]

Disclaimer: 1) I'm not a lawyer 2) copyright law changes as politicians are
bought and sold 3) I don't work exclusively in this area. 

But

AFAIK, Arrangements are not eligible to be copyright protected. A melody is,
a set of changes are not, a lyric is, an idea is not.  

To be sure of your situation, check with a lawyer who specializes in
entertainment law. Most lawyers will give you 15 or 30 minutes to explain
why you are contacting them and will give a limited amount of advice before
they start the meter ticking. 

Best of luck
 
-----Original Message-----
From: dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com
[mailto:dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com] On Behalf Of Kimberly
Shaffer
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 6:08 PM
To: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] another question

Here's the thing I still can't seem to figure out:

How do I register an original arrangement of someone else's composition 
so as to get publishing rights?

Example:  John Q Songwriter writes a song.  He copyrights that song 
with the US Copyright office.  30 years later, Paul B Arranger writes 
and records a new rendition of the song.  The new arrangement 
completely reworks the style and instrumentation.  The melody is still 
recognizable but it is different enough to be considered a "derivative 
work" by the copyright office, and thus copyrightable in its own right. 
  When the song gets played on the radio, John Q Songwriter and his 
publishing company obviously get a share of the royalties -- but Paul B 
Arranger feels his contribution to the song was unique enough to 
warrant a share of the royalties as well.  How does this work?  How do 
the big studios do it?



_______________________________________________
Dixielandjazz mailing list
Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz