Help me with the license of a long dead author.

• Jan 22, 2016 - 14:02

Hey all,

I transcribed some Harp pieces from //archive.org/details/troispetitespi00hass . Archive.org says it was Published 1892 and the Author died in 1912. So I assume this work is public domain.

If it is public domain I can put my transcription under any license I want is this correct? So I could add a copyright and sell the scores without breaking copyright law. But everyone else can do so too.

The transcription in question is: //musescore.com/user/1172556/scores/1624441 and //musescore.com/user/1172556/scores/1623601

I'm asking because I have the same pieces printed with a copyright of 1985. And I don't want to infringe any copyright! - Copyrights are way too ugly to do that!

Also while I'm at it... the apps for smartphones are they opensource too?

Thanks for your replies!

If I'm correct I will transcribe more of the music by Alphonse Hasselmans.

Comments

• Jan 22, 2016 - 15:59

The app for smartphones and tablets are not open source.

You can sell anything in the public domain or under any licence that allow commercial use, you don't need to copyright anything to sell it. When I transcribe public domain works, I like to put my transcription under the CC0 license or PD mark, like this one https://musescore.com/nicolas/scores/437 so anyone can download it and do whatever she wants with it. She and I can sell it if we want.

Is your score an infringement against the 1985 score? I don't know... I guess it's a question for a lawyer.

Reply

Do you still have an unanswered question? Please log in first to post your question.