Uploading Published Arrangement Enhancements
I like to tinker with and enhance published piano solo arrangements of mostly Broadway show tunes. These enhancements can be on just a few measures or throughout the entire arrangement. Will I be infringing on the copyrights of the original arranger if I upload my enhanced versions to MuseScore?
Comments
Unless they are out of copyright - then yes.
Copyright laws vary in different countries.
For the US and EU it is 70 years after the death of the composer.
For some countries eg Canada it will be 50 years after the death of the composer.
So to be safe, nothing written by a composer who died later than 1943 can be considered in the public domain.
Indeed the bodies which oversee copyright such as ASCAP, PRS and MCPS are really cracking down on this so you need to be careful.
Unless of course you are uploading them to MuseScore for your own use and viewing only.
In reply to Unless they are out of by ChurchOrganist
And musescore.com provides the "private" attribute for just that purpose - to limit visibility to just you. I think you may still be able to post to grouos or hand out the link - not sure about that, but feel to test - if you have a small circle of colleagues you'd like to share with. Most countries' laws allow for that sort of thing as fair use.