Even if music is out of print, it may still be protected by copyright. You will usually need the publisher’s permission, unless copyright has expired or a special exception to infringement applies.
Even if music is out of print, it may still be protected by copyright. You will usually need the publisher’s permission, unless copyright has expired or a special exception to infringement applies.
The “research or study” exception in the Copyright Act is likely to include copying a piece of music in order to practise it for an exam. However, under this exception, you could generally only copy up to 10% of the number of pages if the work has been published in an edition of at least 10 pages. If you wanted to copy more than that, or if the music you want to copy is not published in an edition of at least 10 pages, you can only copy what is “fair” in all the circumstances.
If the piece of music you need is readily available for purchase, it will not normally be “fair” to copy all of it.
There are no special exceptions in the Copyright Act which allow you to copy music to avoid a difficult page turn or to assemble songs in a different order for performance purposes. However, AMCOS publisher members permit copying for the purpose of avoiding a difficult page turn, provided you own the music from which you are playing, and use the copy in conjunction with the printed music. For detailed information about this and other permitted uses, see the booklet published by AMCOS entitled Practical Guide to the Use of Print Music.
Generally, you will need permission to copy music if you want to assemble pieces in a different order or if you want to avoid juggling several books.