IMSLP:Composer Portal

Method 1 (Preferred for composers, arrangers and editors submitting their own works)

REQUIRED!: If you are new to IMSLP for uploading typesets, you MUST create a composer page before uploading any typesets on IMSLP, follow these steps:
(Refer to Step 3 and 3.5 if you accidentally associated your account and the editor/arranger and the publisher field is filling out in the upload page/box with a different composer page's name than your own that died less that 50 years ago or is still alive)

1. Create a new page by clicking on this add a new composer link.

2. After clicking "Submit", a browser based message will appear explaining if you are the composer or if you are a relative/heir/friend going to submit works to this composer page, click "Yes" if you are and your account will be associated with that composer page, "Cancel" if you do not want your works associated with this composer page and when uploading typesets, it does not fill out automatically the publisher and editor/arranger fields with the composer page name. You now have your composer page created! Skip step 3 and 3.5 if you are not having problems with an incorrect associated composer page.

3. If you accidentally had clicked "Yes" on a composer page that you created that had associated your account with a composer who is either still alive or died less than 50 year ago, follow this step: On the composer page you want to associate, click the gear (this is on the Classic Skin UI) or hammer drop down menu (top section on Modern Skin UI) icon and select the option:

"You are this person (associate)"

3.5. Make sure to also go to the incorrect composer page by doing the same as in step 3, you account association should be fixed after doing this:

"You are not this person (disassociate)"

4. Follow the instructions below for creating new pages for works on the Quick Guide to Score Submission page.

Once you have made the association and created a new page for your work per the submission guide, the use of the special new upload tools for composers, arrangers and editors will be enabled.
In the upper right-hand section (on the Modern Skin, its the top section to the right of the "Contents" drop down menu) of the new work-page, along with the "Add Sheet Music" (for scans) and "Recording" options (mentioned in the Quick Guide to Score Submission ), you will see
the following options in the menu beneath the "Add File" button

• New Arrangement (your arrangements of other composers' works - never of your own pieces)
• New Composition (presumably you'll use this most, after setting up pages for new pieces)
• New Edition (your editions of other composers' works - never of your own pieces)

• Heirs, estates or legal representatives of composers (composers deceased less than 50 years or living composers).

If the entire list of options is desired - including performance restricted licenses and the more restrictive versions of the Creative Commons licenses - it is permissible to associate yourself with the category page of the composer represented. Follow steps 1 through 4 above. Such cases often require editing after upload so please contact an administrator for assistance. Uploading manuscript material and scans are cases which particularly require such attention.

If you do not understand any of the above (only after if you have tried the above yourself), ask an admin or ask on the forums. An admin can actually perform the association process for you.

Method 2 (arrangers and editors only - composers required to use Method 1)

Just follow the instructions in item #5 of the Quick Guide to Score Submission page, repeated here:

• Since the new update to the uploader on March 2017, if you are going to be adding your own new arrangement or edition of a public domain piece, you must have already created your own composer category page for yourself, as outlined above in Method 1. The composer page also hosts links to your editions and arrangements on the same page. We do not allow (as it is not possible) to add a typeset through the Add Scan to select a Creative Commons license because the only copyright option to choose from is Public Domain.
• When uploading, select either New Edition or New Arrangement and have your own name inserted as "Editor" and as "Publisher" (this is all automatically done by the uploader). The Scanner/Typesetter field should contain only the word "editor" (for New Edition) or "arranger" (for New Arrangement) (this is automatically done already) if you are also the person who created the file on a notation program. You must then choose one of the acceptable licenses.

Works incorporating texts, music, or other material under copyright

One cannot simply use copyrighted text (prose, poetry, etc.) and upload here without obtaining permission in writing from the copyright owner (usually the author or the legal heirs of the author). The same applies for any musical, visual works, or sound recordings which are under copyright. As our main server is in Canada, the basic rule for everything except sound recordings is that the copyright term is determined by the death date of the last surviving author plus 50 years. Thus it is absolutely necessary that composers read this basic copyright guide before commencing with uploads.

Licensing

As a composer or other copyright holder, please take time to carefully review the Creative Commons and licensing policies and guidelines.

For those uploading the first time, please remember choose the menu option "New Composition" when uploading your original works (even if they are scans of manuscripts or printouts), "New Arrangement" when uploading new arrangements, and "New Edition" when uploading new editions of public domain works. As it is normally assumed that composers and arrangers have edited their own work, please leave the "Editor" field empty unless another person has actually edited your work (in which case their name should be inserted). Note also that the English term "Editor" is not the equivalent of the French editeur or Italian editore. "Editor" refers to the person who reviewed and corrected the piece, while the French and Italian words are closer to the English word "publisher". In the "Publisher" field, please use your own full legal name, as making your scores and sound files available for free download on this site constitutes "publication" under the laws of most countries in the world. (Note that this is done automatically when using the standard upload tools).

You should be aware that Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 allows for the unrestricted copying, performance (live and broadcast) and recording of the work (including explicitly commercial use) at no charge, with no compensation or royalties payable to the composer or copyright owner for such commercial exploitation. Note also that the all of the acceptable licenses are considered to be IRREVOCABLE once a file has been uploaded with the lawful copyright owner's authorization.

You are free to change the license after upload to something more suitable. IMSLP as a matter of policy will list files under the most permissive licensing terms. Since licenses and public domain dedications are irrevocable, restrictions cannot be added later, but a more liberal license can be selected. Composers are also encouraged to make use of our new template {{NoPerf}}, which automatically places works into a new category - Unperformed Works. To add this template to your pages, simply copy and paste the little template above (curly brackets and all) into the "First Performance" field of the "General Information" section on all work pages.

Before you upload, remember these key points...

• All licenses on IMSLP are IRREVOCABLE. Once a file is made available here, it stays here and will not be removed as a matter of policy.
• The Creative Commons licenses terminate automatically upon violation by end-users. In other words, if the user fails to respect the terms of the license, then their use may constitute infringement.
• Your work is legally published (in most locales) the first time a file is offered for download by someone other than yourself. You are considered the publisher of your own work when you post it on IMSLP.

Using the simple "Creative Commons Attribution" (CC BY) does not limit the use of your work for commercial use by end users, who can do so without paying you any compensation whatsoever as long as they observe the requirement that your work is attributed to you, and the license is noted. Use of "Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike" (CC BY-SA), conversely, requires that any user make their derivative work (that is, anything that incorporates your work) freely shareable according to the CC BY-SA license terms as well.

To remove the association

To remove an association with your account, simply select the same gear (hammer on mobile version) icon on your composer category page and choose the option:

• You are not this person (disassociate)

Reclaiming Copyrights for Works Assigned to Publishers (for the United States specifically)

• Assuming there are no "Works Made for Hire" involved (see below), a composer, arranger, editor or their legal heirs can terminate any grants or transfers (per the following provisions), even though they do not reside in the United States as long as a notice of termination is sent according to the terms of the US law. Such terminations are of course only effective within the United States. Other countries have similar termination or reclamation processes, but a number of these come into effect only after the author's death so these are not addressed here. Note that this is a basic outline of the reclamation process and it is highly recommended that anyone effecting such a termination consult an experienced copyright attorney before proceeding with any action.

A “work made for hire” is—

(1) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or

(2) a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work, as a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, as a translation, as a supplementary work, as a compilation, as an instructional text, as a test, as answer material for a test, or as an atlas, if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire. For the purpose of the foregoing sentence, a “supplementary work” is a work prepared for publication as a secondary adjunct to a work by another author for the purpose of introducing, concluding, illustrating, explaining, revising, commenting upon, or assisting in the use of the other work, such as forewords, afterwords, pictorial illustrations, maps, charts, tables, editorial notes, musical arrangements, answer material for tests, bibliographies, appendixes, and indexes, and an “instructional text” is a literary, pictorial, or graphic work prepared for publication and with the purpose of use in systematic instructional activities.

In determining whether any work is eligible to be considered a work made for hire under paragraph (2), neither the amendment contained in section 1011(d) of the Intellectual Property and Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999, as enacted by section 1000(a)(9) of Public Law 106-113, nor the deletion of the words added by that amendment—

(A) shall be considered or otherwise given any legal significance, or

(B) shall be interpreted to indicate congressional approval or disapproval of, or acquiescence in, any judicial determination,

by the courts or the Copyright Office. Paragraph (2) shall be interpreted as if both section 2(a)(1) of the Work Made for Hire and Copyright Corrections Act of 2000 and section 1011(d) of the Intellectual Property and Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999, as enacted by section 1000(a)(9) of Public Law 106-113, were never enacted, and without regard to any inaction or awareness by the Congress at any time of any judicial determinations.

Section 1 of the definition is fairly obvious. If an author or composer was paid to provide new, original works by his or her employer as part of their daily job, any works created by them at the place of employment can be considered as "works made for hire". This typically does not apply to musical works apart from some somewhat unusual cases where a publisher paid a person to create 'stock arrangements' for mass market sales. Sometimes advertising agencies employed composers to write "jingles" to be used for including in broadcast advertising. Such items are commonly considered to be "work made for hire."

Section 2 is where things get complicated, especially the language about any “supplementary work”. There must be an explicit provision in any contract or written instrument for the assignation of such a “supplementary work” naming it as a "work made for hire". The abuses took place when original works were simply re-defined as a “supplementary work” merely because they were included in a "series" issued by a publisher or record producer.

• Works first assigned or published 1978 and later.

The initial termination window opens at the end of 35 years and closes at the end of 40 years after the effective date of the of the contract or actual publication, whichever is earliest. Notice of termination must be served in writing to the contracted parties within the designated window by those eligible to serve such notice. Composers, their legal heirs or their designated agents should then send legal notice of termination in accordance with the procedures outlined in Section 203 of the Copyright Law. It is now 2021 so works first assigned or published between 1982 and 1986 can be reclaimed by composers or their legal heirs via sending a written notice via certified mail to the controlling parties in the United States. This only applies to the United States, not to any other country.

• Works first assigned or published between 1938 and 1977.

Under the provisions found in Section 304 of the Copyright Law, there are termination rights for authors and their legal heirs related to the two extensions of the original copyright term which governs works published in this period. The extension of the renewal term from 28 years from date of publication to 67 years; and 20-year extension to existing copyrights of works first published between 1923 and 1977 to 95 years from first publication. Consequently, there are two windows for the termination of transfers and licenses. (There were originally three - the first at the end of the initial 28-year term but the last such initial term ended in 2006.) As before, this only applies to the United States, not to any other country.

The next termination window opens at the end of 56 years and closes at the end of 61 years after the effective date of the of the contract or actual publication, whichever is earliest. Notice of termination must be served in writing to the other parties within the window by those eligible to serve such notice in accordance with the procedures outlined in Section 304 of the copyright law. It now being 2021, works first assigned or published between 1965 and 1970 can be reclaimed by composers or their legal heirs via sending a written notice via certified mail to the controlling parties in the United States.

The final termination window opens at the end of 75 years and closes at the end of 80 years after the effective date of the of the contract or actual publication, whichever is earliest. Notice of termination must be served in writing to the other parties within the window by those eligible to serve such notice in accordance with the procedures outlined in Section 304 of the copyright law. It now being 2021, works first assigned or published between 1941 and 1946 can be reclaimed by composers or their legal heirs via sending a written notice via certified mail to the controlling parties in the United States.

• An online term calculator can be found at the following website.

rightsback.org