Re copyrighting arrangements-- a quick Google turns up this at PDINFO.com which is a site dedicated to public domain: The arrangement of a song can also be protected by copyright. A chord progression does not constitute an arrangement, and a chord progression alone cannot be protected by copyright. But the chord progression, harmonies, accompaniment rhythm, and musical fill phrases are together a creative work which define the style and feel of a song. Anyone can create and copyright an arrangement of any music in the public domain. So even though music and lyrics may be in the public domain, there frequently are numerous arrangements of any public domain work under copyright protection. Derivative Work When a musical work is first written down in a tangible form, the original is created. Changes to the original create a new work which is called a derivative work. The author of a work has exclusive rights not only to his original work, but also exclusive rights to make derivative works from the original. But anyone can create and copyright a derivative work from anything in the public domain. Therefore, a composition may have numerous derivative works protected by copyright even if the is original is the the public domain. We will leave it to the attorneys to differentiate between "arrangement" and "derivative work". What you must know is that both are protected by copyright law. Hopefully PDINFO.com will view my copying as fair use :-)
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