IMSLP Forums

I received this email from the anonymous donor that I correspond with:

Hi, I have 2 scores published by Eulenburg that I would like to scan, but
the problem is I do not know the status of their copyright. I would like to
ask Carolus (through you) about the status of the copyrights.
The scores are
1) Max Bruch's Violin Concerto no.1 in G minor (Eulenburg edition no. 714)
http://www.iucat.iu.edu/uhtbin/cgisirsi ... 340309/5/0
2) Georges Bizet's Symphony no.1 in C major (Eulenburg edition no. 556)
http://www.iucat.iu.edu/uhtbin/cgisirsi ... 340309/5/0

As the IUCAT records show, I'm more confident about the violin concerto as
it was first published in Leipzig (my score says that it was co-published by
C.F. Peters of Leipzip and Ernst Eulenburg of London) probably before the
second World War. Again, I would like to hear Carolus' opinion on this.

Even though the e-mail asks for Carolus' opinion, I bet he'd also like to hear the opinion of anyone else who has information on this Of course, Carolus, if you have time, please answer

Btw, the links seem broken to me... but the site is there (plus one can also check on other university library sites).

More information about the broken links, quoted from e-mail:

  Hi, I think I know why the links are broken. You need to gain access to
IUCAT by loggin in as a university student/staff or by guest access. That is
why it won't work when using the shortcut as we are attempting to bypass the
access. Please enter the following website:

http://www.iucat.iu.edu/

Go to the bottom of the page and click "Guest Access" under Other Users. You
will be directed to a basic search page. Simply type "concerto" and "bruch"
for the title and author respectively, and type "eulenburg" for keywords.
You will be directed to the bibliographic information for the Bruch's violin
concerto. Similarly, type "symphony" and "bizet" under the same headings
("eulenburg" again for keywords) to go to the Bizet Symphony no.1 score
page. Using the "eulenburg" as a keywords helps as in narrows the search
considerably.

The Bizet was published for the very first time in 1935 by Universal Edition in Vienna. They evidently didn't renew it (very unusual for them), since both Kalmus and Dover have reprinted that score. The Eulenburg score would therefore have to date from 1935 or later. If the Eulenburg is a mere reprint of the Universal (which they've done in some cases), it could be a licensed reprint (most likely) or a reprint produced after the copyright expired under Austrian and English law. In either case, the UE copyright's expiration governs as one cannot obtain a new copyright by merely reprinting something. The original UE score of the Bizet is 91 pages, BTW. Another possibility is that Eulenburg simply did their own re-engraving of the UE under license (there's precedent for that also). A re-engraving of the UE score would not entitle them to a new, separate copyright under US law any more than re-printing it would.

Eulenburg often did their own engraving (not always terribly accurately, BTW), which was then "shared" with the original publisher as a part of the license to issue the study score. The Bruch is likely an example of this practice. Peters is the successor to C.F.W. Siegel - the original publisher of the Bruch. The original Siegel full score is 120 pages and was issued in 1878. Bruch died in 1920, so Eulenburg would have been required to obtain a license from Peters as Bruch was copyright in Germany until 1971. There are actually a fair number of Peters editions that were issued in study score format by both Eulenburg and Peters.

Neither Eulenburg score is protected in the US unless they are actual new editions - not mere re-engravings. If they were issued before Eulenburg's move to London a) without a copyright notice in the correct form and in the prescribed location; and b) not renewed after 28 years following publication with the correct notice - they are PD in the USA becuase they were ineligible for restoration due to the fact that they were PD in their country of origin (25-year German law). There are few, if any, pre-London Eulenburg scores that are protected in the USA. For those scores first issued after the move of corporate headquarters to London, their status under English law comes into play if they are something more than a re-engraving or reprint. The Bruch was almost certainly issued well before Eulenburg's move to London. The Bizet could be copyright if its an actual unique edition.