Copyright Question

[tdurie]

I live in Canada. I'm aware that US citizens can't access all of imslp. Does anybody know if I'm allowed to email scores that are public domain across the border into the US if they are not yet public domain there? Am I breaking any laws?

Thanks for any responses!

[Choralia]

I'm aware that US citizens can't access all of imslp

No, this is not correct. There are no access restrictions on IMSLP. Access restrictions could be only based on the IP address, however this does not make much sense as the IP address does not necessarily represent the actual location of the user or his/her citizenship, due to remotely located gateways and proxies. Furthermore, the IP address conveys no information about the intended use of the score, which may possibly fall under "fair use" conditions.

Does anybody know if I'm allowed to email scores that are public domain across the border into the US if they are not yet public domain there?

IANAL (I am not a lawyer). However, by similarity, you may not know for sure whether the recipient of your email is physically located in the U.S., whether he/she is subject to the U.S. law, and whether the intended use of the score falls under "fair use" conditions. So, I would recommend you to include a disclaimer in your email so as to transfer to the recipient of your email the responsibility to obey the applicable copyright laws in his/her jurisdiction. By doing so, you should reasonably stay on the safe side.

Max