Universal Edition AG Forces IMSLP To Shut Down
Michael Bednarek
Music Score Library Project (http://imslp.org/) to close its website.
From the website:
On Saturday October 13, 2007, I received a second Cease and Desist
letter from Universal Edition. At first I thought this letter would be
similar in content to the first Cease and Desist letter I received in
August. However, after lengthy discussions with very knowledgeable
lawyers and supporters, I became painfully aware of the fact that I, a
normal college student, has neither the energy nor the money necessary
to deal with this issue in any other way than to agree with the cease
and desist, and take down the entire site. I cannot apologize enough
to all IMSLP contributors, who have done so much for IMSLP in the last
two years.
I also understand very well that the cease and desist letter does not
call for a take down of the entire site, but, as I said above, I very
unfortunately simply do not have the energy or money necessary to
implement the terms in the cease and desist in any other way.
From
<http://imslpforums.org/Second%20U-E%20Cease%20and%20Desist%20Letter.pdf>
Re: Copyright Infringement of works owned by Universal Edition AG
We are the Canadian counsel for and represent Universal
Edition AG, the publisher of various composers including
B. Bartók, A. Berg, I. Friedman, L. Janacek, G. Mahler,
J. Marx, O. Respighi, A. Schönberg, R. Strauss,
K. Szymanowski and A. von Zemlinski ("UE Authors").
It is our understanding that you are the directing mind
behind the International Music Score Library Project,
("IMSLP"), as its primary system administrator and founder.
As such, you are legally responsible for the conduct of the
members of the IMSLP, and have control over and may
potentially authorize any copyright infringement committed
by individuals who have access to and who may edit the
IMSLP.
As you are aware, the copyright in the musical scores
published by the UE Authors are copyrighted in Europe for a
period of at least 70 years from the date of the author's
death, and for 50 years after death in Canada. Certain of
these composers' works are further protected in Canada or
the United States under the appropriate Copyright Act of
these jurisdictions.
It is our understanding that it is possible to filter IP
addresses of those who take part in copying files from your
site to prevent such unauthorized copyright infringement.
However, we further understand that such safeguards are not
in place. As a result of the lack of safeguards on the IMSLP
from infringing Canadian and European copyright law, you and
your organization are involved in a collective effort to
breach copyright.
This is a violation of both European and Canadian copyright
law.
We therefore demand that you cease and desist from offering
on your web site the musical scores and any other
copyrighted works of the UE Authors. These works should be
removed by no later than October 19, 2007.
We further demand that you institute a filtering system to
the IMSLP that would prevent any further uploading of the UE
Artists's scores until after the expiry of European and
Canadian copyright in those works.
Failing your agreement to these terms, we reserve our
client's rights to commence copyright proceedings in Europe
or in Canada against yourself personally and against the
IMSLP as an unincorporated organization, as well as any
other individuals who take part in infringing activity.
Please note that under Canadian law a judgement rendered in
Europe is enforceable in Canada and that such a judgement
may be enforced against yourself personally.
Please confirm in writing by letter or email addressed to
the undersigned to indicate your consent to the above
demands by October 19, 2007. lf we do not receive such
confirmation by that date we will be seeking instructions
with respect to commencing legal action against yourself and
your organization.
Yours truly,
AIRD & BERLIS LLP
Ken Clark
KC/mv/encl.
c. J. Juranek (Universal Edition AG)
--
Michael Bednarek http://mbednarek.com/ "POST NO BILLS"
--
Michael Bednarek http://mbednarek.com/ "POST NO BILLS"
Christopher Culver
<mbATmbednarek....@BLACKHOLESPAM.NET> wrote:
> The publishing house Universal Edition AG has forced the International
> Music Score Library Project (http://imslp.org/) to close its website.
While one single website has been shut down, the fan of contemporary
music can still get scores scanned as PDF of prominent works by a
number of UE composers on any file-sharing network.
richard...@googlemail.com
> While one single website has been shut down, the fan of contemporary
> music can still get scores scanned as PDF of prominent works by a
> number of UE composers on any file-sharing network.
IT looks like I missed all the fun here. What sort of things were up
for sharing..?
SOULSEEK fileshare can give you things like Gruppen and Ligeti
orchestral faves. But don't tell UE
Mr. Mike
wrote:
>IT looks like I missed all the fun here. What sort of things were up
>for sharing..?
Well, the son of American composer Leo Ornstein uploaded lots of his
daddy's music (this was quite legitimate under the site's terms of
use), for example.
I noticed a copy of Mahler's Symphony No. 7 for piano four-hands (I
had previously owned other symphonies, like the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,
5th and 9th, in this format).
Lora Crighton
<mbATmbednarek....@BLACKHOLESPAM.NET> wrote:
> The publishing house Universal Edition AG has forced the International
> Music Score Library Project (http://imslp.org/) to close its website.
>
http://excesscopyright.blogspot.com/
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/
Michael Haslam
Are you suggesting that Mahler is still in copyright? I suspect the
piano duet versions of the symphonies are roughly contemporary with the
pieces themselves.
--
MJHaslam
Remove accidentals to obtain correct e-address
Lora Crighton
>
> Are you suggesting that Mahler is still in copyright? I suspect the
> piano duet versions of the symphonies are roughly contemporary with the
> pieces themselves.
Mahler was on the list that Universal wanted taken down.
John Wiser
by Bote & Bock in Berlin. A glance at the list of
the Collected Edition indicates that they still hold
rights to critical revisions. UE should have nothing to say about this work or about various other orchestral and vocal works
to which they do not hold rights. UE employs some village idiots, but when they're lawyers in injunction-issuing mode, you
need to pay heed.
The one- and two-piano reductions of Mahler
symphonies were, as Michael suggests, first
published with early issues of the unrevised
scores, which in their turn have gone out of
copyright, even those originally published by UE, and are available from other publishers, such as Eulenburg. UE doesn't
particularly want you to know that, and the cloudy issues of international copyright are helpful to them.
cheers
--
John Wiser
cee...@gmail.com
John Wiser
"John Wiser" <cee...@frontiernet.net> wrote in message [once is enough]
will give you an excellent idea
which Mahler works Universal Edition (UE)
doesn't hold sway over.
I warn potential purchasers of Elibron full
orchestral scores that they are perfect-bound
(edge-glued into their binding) and thus
useless for conductors.
To cause them to lie flat
and to quickly flip pages
is to bring about
their swift disintegration.
cheers
Tenant...
impossible to obtain offline. IMSLP was a magnificent resource from that
point of view, and I really want those scores to be put back up: I hadn't
finished studying them...!!!
M.
Michael Haslam
What are the chances of an impeccable, from a legal point of view,
organisation, eg the British Library, the Library of Congress, getting
round to sheet music in their ongoing digitizing for public access
programmes within the next few years?
Michael Haslam
> In article <1i6j831.wj6pli1heqaqlN%innat...@macflat.com>,
> innat...@macflat.com (Michael Haslam) wrote:
>
> > Tenant... <Ten...@newhome.com> wrote:
> >
> > > The various piano transcriptions of the Mahler symphonies are almost
> > > impossible to obtain offline. IMSLP was a magnificent resource from that
> > > point of view, and I really want those scores to be put back up: I hadn't
> > > finished studying them...!!!
> >
> > What are the chances of an impeccable, from a legal point of view,
> > organisation, eg the British Library, the Library of Congress, getting
> > round to sheet music in their ongoing digitizing for public access
> > programmes within the next few years?
>
> The Danish and Swedish Libraries are doing this now.
Cool.
Peter T. Daniels
> Tenant... <Ten...@newhome.com> wrote:
> > The various piano transcriptions of the Mahler symphonies are almost
> > impossible to obtain offline. IMSLP was a magnificent resource from that
> > point of view, and I really want those scores to be put back up: I hadn't
> > finished studying them...!!!
>
> What are the chances of an impeccable, from a legal point of view,
> organisation, eg the British Library, the Library of Congress, getting
> round to sheet music in their ongoing digitizing for public access
> programmes within the next few years?
The LoC website has an _immense_ collection of music published in the
US in the 19th century, available for free download.
Michael Haslam
[sigh] But what about the 4-hand version of Mahler 7, Peter?
Peter T. Daniels
Was it published in the US in the 19th century? Seems unlikely.
You inquired, however, about the LoC "getting round to sheet music,"
which they have been doing for a very long time. (It's not American
music only; do you need some Moscheles Etudes?)