cwc@mhuxd.UUCP (Chip Christ) (03/21/84)
- For those who doubt that a publisher would take the trouble to sue some "little guy" who only made a few copies, I offer the following tidbit as best I can recall it. Seems that a small-town choir director took a fancy to a piece of (Christmas/Easter/whatever special occasion) music, purchased the sheet music and made copies for the choir members. Somehow, the publisher found out about it, sued the director, the church and everyone else he could, and WON. I believe even the performance was cancelled because the director wouldn't/couldn't pay the royalty. Of course he got even (sort of) by making sure the incident made the national news, but only after it rained on his parade. Chip
bcw@duke.UUCP (Bruce C. Wright) (03/23/84)
Actually I think the case about the choir director was even more interesting: the choir director had made an arrangement of some song and thought that the publisher or composer might be interested in it, and sent in his arrangement with the notation that the publisher could have it free of charge, to duplicate or do whatever he wanted to with it. The publisher sued and won, on the grounds that the act of making the arrangement was making an illegal copy. I don't have the exact details but can look them up if there's interest... Bruce C. Wright