MMD > Archives > February 1996 > 1996.02.22 > 03Prev  Next


Re: Converting QRS Roll to MIDI
By Matthew Caulfield

Steve Harder raised, among other questions, one concerning the legality of inputting a QRS roll into a MIDI database. Assuming that he has bought a copy of the QRS roll and is inputting the music only for his own use, I would think that he is on safe ground morally and legally: QRS has not been deprived of a sale that it would have otherwise made and Steve is not exploiting QRS's work for his own profit.

If I bought a copy of somebody's DOS manual and had it rebound, interleaved with blank pages for my use in making notes on the text, I would not be depriving the text's author or publisher of the fruits of their labor since I purchased their text. Likewise if I bought a book of poems and recorded someone's recitation of them for my own private delectation, I would not be defrauding the copyright holder; I might be doing so, however, if I made the recording from a BORROWED text, since that would deprive the author of one potential sale. The "fair use" section of the copyright law allows certain uses of copyrighted material under certain conditions.

Warning: this advice is worth only what you are paying for it.

(Message sent Thu 22 Feb 1996, 17:00:12 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.)

Key Words in Subject:  Converting, MIDI, QRS, Roll
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