Piano Guidance
Photo by Karolina Grabowska Pexels Logo Photo: Karolina Grabowska

Is it OK to copy music that is copyrighted?

Uploading or downloading works protected by copyright without the authority of the copyright owner is an infringement of the copyright owner's exclusive rights of reproduction and/or distribution.

Should my 2 year old be jumping?
Should my 2 year old be jumping?

Jumping and playing is an excellent way for kids to strengthen large muscles that will further contribute to their development and growth. By age...

Read More »
How do I change chords quickly?
How do I change chords quickly?

1) Keep it Close: Place your fingers near to the strings It's simple. The less you move your fingers, the faster you change between chords. The...

Read More »

Home FAQ's Can I Use Someone Else's Work? Can Someone Else Use Mine?

Can I Use Someone Else's Work? Can Someone Else Use Mine?

You can ask for it. If you know who the copyright owner is, you may contact the owner directly. If you are not certain about the ownership or have other related questions, you may wish to request that the Copyright Office conduct a search of its records or you may search yourself. See the next question for more details. We can provide you with the information available in our records. A search of registrations, renewals, and recorded transfers of ownership made before 1978 requires a manual search of our files. Upon request, our staff will search our records, see Circular 4 Copyright Office fees. There is no fee if you conduct a search in person at the Copyright Office. Copyright registrations made and documents recorded from 1978 to date are available for searching online. For further information, see Circular 22, How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work, and Circular 23, Copyright Card Catalog and the Online File. Check out the Virtual Card Catalog Proof of Concept as well. The Copyright Office will not honor a request for a copy of someone else's protected work without written authorization from the copyright owner or from his or her designated agent, unless the work is involved in litigation. In the latter case, a litigation statement is required. A certificate of registration for any registered work can be obtained see Circular 4 Copyright Office fees, for this and other records and services. Circular 6, Access to and Copies of Copyright Records and Deposit, provides additional information. Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. There are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentage of a work. Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances. See, Fair Use Index, and Circular 21, Reproductions of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians. Only the owner of copyright in a work has the right to prepare, or to authorize someone else to create, a new version of that work. Accordingly, you cannot claim copyright to another's work, no matter how much you change it, unless you have the owner's consent. See Circular 14, Copyright Registration for Derivative Works and Compilations. A party may seek to protect his or her copyrights against unauthorized use by filing a civil lawsuit in federal district court. If you believe that your copyright has been infringed, consult an attorney. In cases of willful infringement for profit, the U.S. Attorney may initiate a criminal investigation. If you use a copyrighted work without authorization, the owner may be entitled to bring an infringement action against you. There are circumstances under the fair use doctrine where a quote or a sample may be used without permission. However, in cases of doubt, the Copyright Office recommends that permission be obtained. No, we neither compile nor maintain such a list. A search of our records, however, may reveal whether a particular work is no longer under copyright protection. We will conduct a search of our records by the title of a work, an author's name, or a claimant's name. Upon request, our staff will search our records see Circular 4 Copyright Office Fees, for this and other records and services. You may also search the records in person without paying a fee.

Can you play Fur Elise on a 61 key piano?
Can you play Fur Elise on a 61 key piano?

It's possible to play the first two movements of Fur Elise by Beethoven on a 61 key-keyboard, but the third and final movement will need at least...

Read More »
Is it worth getting a piano teacher?
Is it worth getting a piano teacher?

Your piano teacher will help you stay on track with consistent practice. Knowing that someone else is observing your progress each week will...

Read More »
Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide
Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide

Pianoforall is one of the most popular online piano courses online and has helped over 450,000 students around the world achieve their dream of playing beautiful piano for over a decade.

Learn More »

With few exceptions, the Library of Congress does not own copyright in the materials in its collections and does not grant or deny permission to use the content mounted on its website. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item. To the greatest extent possible, the Library attempts to provide any known rights information about its collections. Such information can be found in the “Copyright and Other Restrictions” statements on each American Memory online collection homepage. If the image is not part of the American Memory collections, contact the Library custodial division to which the image is credited. Bibliographic records and finding aids available in each custodial division include information that may assist in assessing the copyright status. Search our catalogs through the Library's Online Catalog. To access information from the Library’s reading rooms, go to Research Centers. Uploading or downloading works protected by copyright without the authority of the copyright owner is an infringement of the copyright owner's exclusive rights of reproduction and/or distribution. Anyone found to have infringed a copyrighted work may be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 for each work infringed and, if willful infringement is proven by the copyright owner, that amount may be increased up to $150,000 for each work infringed. In addition, an infringer of a work may also be liable for the attorney's fees incurred by the copyright owner to enforce his or her rights. Whether or not a particular work is being made available under the authority of the copyright owner is a question of fact. But since any original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium (including a computer file) is protected by federal copyright law upon creation, in the absence of clear information to the contrary, most works may be assumed to be protected by federal copyright law. Since the files distributed over peer-to-peer networks are primarily copyrighted works, there is a risk of liability for downloading material from these networks. To avoid these risks, there are currently many "authorized" services on the Internet that allow consumers to purchase copyrighted works online, whether music, ebooks, or motion pictures. By purchasing works through authorized services, consumers can avoid the risks of infringement liability and can limit their exposure to other potential risks, e.g., viruses, unexpected material, or spyware. For more information on this issue, see the Register of Copyrights' testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. If the movie is for entertainment purposes, you need to get a clearance or license for its performance. It is not necessary to obtain permission if you show the movie in the course of “face-to-face teaching activities” in a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction, if the copy of the movie being performed is a lawful copy. 17 U.S.C. § 110(1). This exemption encompasses instructional activities relating to a wide variety of subjects, but it does not include performances for recreation or entertainment purposes, even if there is cultural value or intellectual appeal.

Is flute or clarinet easier?
Is flute or clarinet easier?

It is easier to start to play flute. Why? The flute is less demanding physically, lighter than clarinet, has less complicated fingerings, and it...

Read More »
What is a good support song?
What is a good support song?

Even More Songs About Supporting Someone and Being There Song Artist Year Released 31. Reach Out I'll Be There Four Tops 1967 32. You've Got a...

Read More »

Questions regarding this provision of the copyright law should be made to the legal counsel of the school or school system. Photocopying shops, photography stores and other photo developing stores are often reluctant to make reproductions of old photographs for fear of violating the copyright law and being sued. These fears are not unreasonable, because copy shops have been sued for reproducing copyrighted works and have been required to pay substantial damages for infringing copyrighted works. The policy established by a shop is a business decision and risk assessment that the business is entitled to make, because the business may face liability if they reproduce a work even if they did not know the work was copyrighted. In the case of photographs, it is sometimes difficult to determine who owns the copyright and there may be little or no information about the owner on individual copies. Ownership of a “copy” of a photograph – the tangible embodiment of the “work” – is distinct from the “work” itself – the intangible intellectual property. The owner of the “work” is generally the photographer or, in certain situations, the employer of the photographer. Even if a person hires a photographer to take pictures of a wedding, for example, the photographer will own the copyright in the photographs unless the copyright in the photographs is transferred, in writing and signed by the copyright owner, to another person. The subject of the photograph generally has nothing to do with the ownership of the copyright in the photograph. If the photographer is no longer living, the rights in the photograph are determined by the photographer’s will or passed as personal property by the applicable laws of intestate succession. There may be situations in which the reproduction of a photograph may be a “fair use” under the copyright law. Information about fair use may be found at Fair Use Index. However, even if a person determines a use to be a “fair use” under the factors of section 107 of the Copyright Act, a copy shop or other third party need not accept the person’s assertion that the use is noninfringing. Ultimately, only a federal court can determine whether a particular use is, in fact, a fair use under the law.

What is the most difficult piano piece?
What is the most difficult piano piece?

'La Campanella', which translates as 'little bell', comes from a larger work – the Grandes études de Paganini – and is famous for being one of the...

Read More »
What is a beautiful Hawaiian name for a girl?
What is a beautiful Hawaiian name for a girl?

70 Hawaiian Baby Girl Names With Meanings Name Meaning Kala As royal the name sounds, its meaning is royal too! The name means 'princess' and is...

Read More »
Is Moonlight Sonata a sad piece?
Is Moonlight Sonata a sad piece?

In the first movement, which is my favorite, the broken minor chords played with the right hand countered with the octaves played with the left...

Read More »
How many scales are there on a piano?
How many scales are there on a piano?

How many scales are there on a piano? There are 12 major scales and 12 natural minor scales that can be played on a standard 88-key piano. Each...

Read More »