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I recently prepared a scholarly edition of what I believed was an unpublished work by an eighteenth-century composer. I was about to submit the score to my publisher when I discovered, quite by chance, that the same work had already been published by a small publishing house, albeit in a relatively 'non-scholarly' version, about 15 years ago.
Would somone on the forum possibly be able to tell me if I can go ahead and have my own edition of the work published? The autograph upon which both my and the other edition are based is held in a conservatory library; I believe that the composer has no direct descendents. Obviously my edition differs from the one already commercially available in that it has a lengthy textual introduction, and all editorial additions/corrections have been indicated.
My edition would be published in the U.K., whereas the 'rival' version has been published in Italy.
Florio

If your work is based on the original source for the work then you may publish your edition freely. The earlier publisher in Italy presumably does not enjoy proprietorial rights over the original work.

Regards, Philip

Actually, there could be a problem with a UK publisher issuing an edition of a score which was first published only 15 years ago in Italy. Both are members of the EU and the EU definitely has an editio princeps provision in the 93/98/EC Copyright Directive with a designated term of 25 years from publication. Presumably, amendments to the copyright laws of the respective countries would adhere to the directive. Much can depend upon which definition is used to define the term "publication." In Canada, for example, posthumous works of composers dead over 50 years are considered as "published" in the legal sense of the word if the work was performed, recorded or broadcast in the composer's lifetime. This definition might not apply in the UK, so your publisher really needs look over the UK Copyright law, or have a short consultation with a lawyer.

I agree with Carolus here. I only know the situation in Germany and Austria:

In Germany, publication (basically, printing) is required to trigger the copyright durations. The Berliner Singakademie lost a court case a while ago, where the finding was that a piece was published during the lifetime of the composer, because several copyists were allowed to copy the score back then.

In Austria, it's actually even less strict: As soon as a piece is made available to the public (ie. not necessarily printed!) the copyright durations start...

A common misunderstanding is that copyright protects ideas. Copyright protects the expression of an idea, but not the idea itself. What this means is one hundred people can write an article about copyright. However, we each own the copyright to our specific articles because each one is an original and fixed piece of work.