****NOTE: Discussion pertinent to U.S. only.
****Please see simple suggestion at end of this post.
**** General copyright info.:
www.copyright.govI don't think that's pertinent for compositions published after 1922. Before the 1976 law copyrights could be renewed for a second term. But, all second terms for works published before 1923 have expired. To quote Circular 15t of the U.S. Copyright Office"
"A work published before January 1, 1964, and originally
copyrighted within the past 75 years may still be protected
by copyright if a valid renewal registration was
made during the 28th year of the first term of the copyright.
If renewed and if still valid under the other provisions
of the law, the copyright will now expire 95 years
from the end of the year in which it was first secured.
Works published before January 1, 1923, have fallen
into the public domain, but works published after that date
could still be protected by copyright if the copyright was
renewed by registration or automatically by law under
Public Law 102-307."
Also:
"Works in the public domain cannot be protected by
copyright. The 1976 Act, the 1992 amendment, and the
1998 amendment do not provide a procedure for restoring
protection for works in which copyright has been lost
for any reason."
The latter quote means that once something is in the public domain it cannot thereafter be protected by copyright. But, one thing to watch out for here is a re-arrangement of something in the public domain. Also, you still have to be worried about regular contract law that was agreed to with the purchase price of the music. Look on the title and leading pages in any music score for copyright notices or other restrictive statements.
Here is a pertinent section from the law about "fair use":
§ 107 · Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use³⁸
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted
work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or
by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment,
news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use),
scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining
whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors
to be considered shall include—
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a
commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted
work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted
work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if
such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
So, there is some provision in law for copying for the purpose of criticism and comment. It is not a copyright infringement for a book reviewer to quote, say, a paragraph from someone else's novel. The portion is a relatively small fraction of the whole work and the quoted material doesn't replace the novel. Note that the considerations include how much of the work is copied and the effect of the copied material (not the criticism, which is protected by the First Amendment and restrained by libel statues) on the potential market. But, if you are using a significant portion of a work that starts to replace the work itself - that can cause harm to the publisher though lost sales.
What I do with when putting sound recordings of my own on the internet is to use only short samples, 1-1.5 min. but never more than 20-40% of a work. It usually provides just enough material for evaluation of a ciritcal part.
Your original composition with a catch line, however, might be a problem. Someone else hears it, it influences their next composition, they finish and publish it before you do yours and, you - the original - might now need to prove up your claim.
Again, I am not a lawyer, but you can use the above info. to prepare for a session with a copyright lawyer.
It's also worth mentioning that you can always try to contact a publisher and ask them if they would have an objection to such and such a use.
Regards,
Jim
Topic: Instructions - please read! (OLD VERSION)