IMSLP Forums

How is the copyright situation handled in (in either the U.S. or Canada) where a non-PD composer (let's say, Poulenc) first publishes a work in 1919 having been written circa that year but later revises this first printing after 1923 and subsequently publishes it under the title of "revised edition". In this case, is only the first (non-revised) score public domain and not the second? Often times the so-called "revised editions" may be anything from minutiae to vast sections being added or subtracted, but all revisions are by the composer. I think I have an idea what the answer would be, but I'd like to have someone else give some reassurances on this matter. Thanks.

Poulenc has some early works that are PD in the US only, nothing of his is PD in Canada or anywhere else.

As for the revisions and their protectability, it's ultimately for a court to decide. Generally, US courts have held that the minor types of things that don't appreciably change the sound of the piece are ineligible for a new copyright as a "revised work." If measures are added or deleted, however, it's a different story. If there is a post-1922 copyright claim with a valid copyright notice and the revised ed. in question has not been reprinted by Masters or Dover, it has a good chance of being under copyright.

As I expected. Thanks for the clarification.