CJ Replay: Legal Photocopying

(An excerpt from the Choral Journal article, “Guidelines from the MPA Music Publishers’ Association of the United States” [pg.41])

 

When can I photocopy? This question is asked every day by music educators nationwide. Most music educators want to respect the rights of copyright owners, but are sometimes confused as to when it is permissible to legally reproduce a copyright work. The following situations are based on the copyright law of 1976, and list what you can do without having secured prior permission:

 

1. Emergency copying to replace purchased copies which for any reason are not available for an

imminent performance provided it is replaced with a purchased copy.

 

2. For academic purposes other than performance, multiple copies of excerpts of works may be made, provided that the excerpts do not comprise a part of -the whole which would constitute a performable unit such as a section, movement, or aria but in no case more than 10 % of the whole work. The number of copies shall not exceed one copy per pupil.

 

3. Printed copies which have been purchased may be edited or simplified provided that the fundamental character of the work is not distorted or the lyrics, if any, altered or lyrics added if none exist.

 

4. A single copy of recordings of performance by students may be made for evaluation or rehearsal purposes and may be retained by the educational institution or individual teacher.

 

5. A single copy of a sound recording of copyrighted music may be made from sound recordings owned by an educational institution or an individual teacher for the purpose of constructing aural exercises or examinations, and may be retained by the educational institution or individual teacher. (This pertains only to the copyright of the music itself and not to any copyright which may exist in the sound recording.)

 

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