September 21, 2020
Gary Ingle of MTNA leadership recently sent information to the state and local presidents about copyright issues.
Highlights, including a link:
[Maybe you have had] specific questions about the legality of providing digital copies of copyrighted music to adjudicators for their use on individual computers or iPads. In August, the MTNA attorney addressed these and other questions for our competitions leadership in a document: FAQs for Online Music Competitions and Recitals. The information will also be quite useful for all state and local associations in confronting difficult digital copyright issues. The full document may be accessed by clicking here.
As a time-saver for you, some answers are taken directly from the FAQs, provided below. The numbers refer to their order in the document itself:
6. For a live competition, can competitors send PDF copies of the music for the judges to use for evaluation purposes?
Yes. If the student purchased the sheet music, he or she can submit a PDF copy of it for the judges to use for evaluation at a live competition. However, as noted below in Question 7, only one copy of the sheet music could be used by the judges.
7. If there is a live competition with judges seated 6-feet apart, can competitors supply one original score and two photocopies? Or PDFs of all the music that the judges could view on individual iPads?
Unfortunately, you would not be able to make two copies of the score and distribute them to the judges without violating copyright laws. Copyright laws would not allow you to make the two copies for the judges who are spaced apart because of COVID-19 concerns. It would be necessary to purchase three sets of the sheet music to give one to each judge.
Much more information with rationale available in the full document.