IMSLP Forums

Hi there!

I'm pretty new to the world of copyright and find some of the rules to be far from simple, and usually just wait for something to be available on IMSLP, but I decided to stop waiting and buy copies of the oboe parts (oboe I, oboe II, English horn, and Hecklephone) to Salome (the complete opera--original orchestration).

I bought the parts from Cherry Mountain Music Publishers through Amazon. The Amazon listing says the publisher is "Kalmus". When the part arrived, it does not say Kalmus anywhere on it, but at the bottom it says "Serenissima Music, Inc." with no copyright date. I also saw on IMSLP that the "Serenissima" editions are a reprint of the original "Fürstner" publication from 1905.

As far as I can tell, reprints can be uploaded through public domain based on death+70, but I'm hesitant because I don't want to share anything illegally. Can anyone clarify public domain/copyright in regards to reprints and different editions, and let me know if these parts would be allowed to be uploaded.

Thanks in advance!
Taylor

Basically reprints do not have any form of an extended copyright over the original printing as long as the engraving is the exact same as the original, then the copyright is unchanged. If its a new edition, recently re-engraved or re-edited (depends on how significant the changes are), then a new copyright can be claimed on that and depends on how old it is.

Kalmus went out of business a couple years ago, and Serenissima took over the reprinting of Kalmus (I think) most of what they did. Not totally sure, possible other re-printers too over some of Kalmus's reprints as well.

As Sallen noted, the work is public domain (now worldwide, having been free in the USA for a long time). Anyone can reprint a public domain work. There is no content difference between reprints made by the now-defunct Kalmus and those made by Serenissima apart from the name you see on the item. The same is true for reprints issued by Luck's Music Library, Dover and other smaller operations - all of them reprinted from a (usually) common source. Some reprints are better than others due to the quality of the originals scanned, the quality of scanning, the printing itself and the stock used. Serenissima uses 70-lb off-white stock which measures 9.5 x 12.5 inches. The Serenissima scans are also processed to straighten the image as much as possible, removed dust and similar artifacts. The Strauss parts you refer to were never actually engraved but were printed from the work of professional copyists in the early 20th century.

Oboeboy do not worry about posting them online, we will get the entire set up for this soon.

Sallen and Carolus,

Thank you so much for your insightful answers. I have been learning more and more, and your information definitely helps.

I guess my concern was in this case that I wasn't sure if what I had would be considered a reprint or a new edition. I could tell that the parts weren't engraved, but hand notated, but I didn't want to make incorrect assumptions, based on what I thought to be true. Are all Kalmus (and whoever bought them) parts public domain? Do the only do reprints? Is the lack of copyright date and publisher info a good way to know if something is a reprint vs. an edited edition?

I'm glad the IMSLP will be uploading the parts! If there's anything I can do to help, let me know. I have plenty of time for scanning or stitching or compiling. Please just reach out!

Taylor

Parts are now uploaded. I had to exclude the Organ part (which is offstage) because it was a typeset (unfortinately not the original copyist engraving) and not sure if I can upload this.