ABSTRACT
Copyright is one of the most complex and misunderstood aspects of music education. The reality is that many teachers either knowingly or inadvertently break the law on a regular basis. It is an easy crime to commit; after all, there is no law enforcement officer policing our classroom, and the crime leaves no evidence of hurting its victim. In fact, from the teacher’s perspective, the crime may seem to help people more than it hurts. Some argue that copyright laws are unnecessarily restrictive, and indeed a copyright law reform movement has arisen to advocate for change. Currently, copyright laws automatically apply to nearly everything published after 1923 that is original, that results from a spark of creativity, and that is in fixed and tangible form. This means that even if something is not officially on file with the US copyright office it is still likely protected.
