IMSLP Forums

It's a shame that these critical editions are still copyright. I find them better than the older Ricordi editions in terms of engraving and editing. Although, someone pointed out to me that these publishers are merely making money (again) by editing Verdi works originally in the public domain.

I still feel that UE's insistance on restarting IMSLP soon is a gimmick to get the public back on their side. What's the rush? Let Feldmahler and co do their stuff, get everything sorted out, and then roll out the new IMSLP rather than restarting a crippling version.

I'll say.

Maybe not amusing to UE and their lawyers.

To aslsp-fi,
Hi, do you mean that at least in Italy, the copyright term for these critical Verdi editions is 20 years after first publication?
Does that mean that if the scores that are published before 1986, they are PD in Italy? I wonder if this can be applied in Canada by the Berne Convention.

Hmm, I apologize if the car manufacturer analogy that I gave previously did not explain fully the current situation confronting IMSLP. Perhaps the gun law offers a better representation. I apologize.

An paper written about the Public Domain by Robert Baron, might be relevant to our discussion:

http://www.studiolo.org/IP/VRA-TM-SF-PublicDomain.htm

This is entirely possible. However, I still think it will be very hard to implement this worldwide. Each country would be intent to protect its own sovereignity that they will hardly accept any worldwide uniform laws unless it is somehow beneficial to them. That is the way I see it I do not think th...

Don't want to sound so pessimistic, but given the current situation at IMSLP, there's not much to celebrate. Here's hope for the better in the future.

That's right. Can car manufacturers be penalized because they produce cars that can exceed speed limits set by a certain country, if the maximum speed is within the speed limit of the country of the manufacturer's origin? Of course not.

We still love you Feldmahler! I know I do.

Hi, Aldona I agree with you. Another example is Beethoven's 9th symphony. Even if both versions published by Dover (an earlier Max Unger edition and the more recent but crappy Litolff edition) are PD, what would happen if somebody out of the blue claims copyright to Schiller's poem "Ode to Joy&...

Composers born in 1861 not PD in Canada? I don't buy it.

Also, even if UE can claim this life+100 copyright in an Austrian (or Mexican) court of law, would they be able to enforce this WORLDWIDE? Highly doubtful given the sovereignity of each country (read: Impossible).

Mr Irons is setting a dangerous precedent here. Suppose a composer born and lived in Mexico his whole life and sold the copyrights of his work to UE. Would UE claim copyright for the work using Mexican copyright law of life+100 years worldwide where most countries have only life+50? Think about it.