Category talk:Semper Paratus (march)

Copyright issues

"Semper Paratus" was originally published in 1928 in The Coast Guard Magazine, according to the Library of Congress. Template:PD-USGov-Military-Coast Guard does not apply to it because Francis Saltus Van Boskerck's job did not involve the composition of music, so the music he created, even while on duty, would not be a work of the United States government as defined by 17 U.S. Code § 101 since it was not part of his "official duties". The 1938 sheet music of the arrangement was ostensibly the first "commercial publication" of the piece, and its copyright notices indicate that the original composition's copyright was originally vested in The Coast Guard Magazine and was assigned to Sam Fox Publishing Company in 1938. However, I could not find renewal for either the original piece or the magazine according to the procedures at Commons:Checking if copyright was renewed, so the 1928 version is quite possibly in the public domain. On the other hand, the 1938 version is most certainly protected by copyright; it was registered and renewed according to the letter of the law and will be protected until January 1, 2034. As for the lyrics, those that were published in 1943 do not appear to be PD under Template:PD-USGov-Military-Coast Guard, as you can see their registration was renewed in 1971 here (page 997, under "Service Songs"). The small change in lyrics in 1969 is probably so minor that it is not protected by copyright.

It is also possible that the 1928 publication of the music in The Coast Guard Magazine might be a "limited publication" (i.e. not publication) depending on how restricted the distribution of that magazine was. If it is the case that the 1928 publication was a limited publication, the 1938 commercial publication would count as the first publication of the work, and there would be no public domain versions of "Semper Paratus". Unfortunately, I have been unable to get a copy of this 1928 publication, a copy of any issue the magazine, or to verify that the magazine actually existed. This perhaps lends credence to the idea that The Coast Guard Magazine was an internal magazine of the Department of Defense and that "Semper Paratus" was first published in 1938.

So what conclusion should we draw from this? First, any recording of the 1938 version is clearly ineligible to be hosted on Commons. Any sung recording that includes the post-1943 lyrics is likewise ineligible. And what if we don't know which version someone is using? Given the frequency with which Sam Fox Publishing Co, Inc. is cited as the copyright holder of the song without qualification (including on the Coast Guard's website; see "What are the lyrics to Semper Paratus? Why is Semper Paratus the Coast Guard's official motto?") and our knowledge that 1938 was the first commercial publication of the piece, it's very possible that all modern performances use the 1938 arrangement or a derivative of it. In fact, given that Boskerck was a person without musical training who wrote the music on the piano, it's very likely that the first concert band arrangement for the piece (which is the only type of arrangement we have on Commons) was first published in 1938. Under this theory, all concert band performances would probably either be the 1938 concert band arrangement or a derivative work thereof, meaning we would have to delete all recordings of "Semper Paratus" from Commons. My opinion is that under the precautionary principle, we should delete these works from Commons, as we have apparently done at least twice before at Commons:Deletion requests/File:Semper Paratus - arr. Jenks - U.S. Coast Guard Band.ogg and Commons:Deletion requests/File:Semper Paratus - US Coast Guard - arr. CWO H.O. Jenks.ogg.  Mysterymanblue  03:06, 30 June 2021 (UTC)

I was able to find a copy of the Coast Guard magazine here. I noticed that they offered magazine subscriptions to the general public, so the "limited publication" theory is seriously in doubt. I also noticed that there were no copyright notices in the magazine. While these facts are not necessarily true of the 1928 edition, it does lead me to believe that Template:PD-US-no notice might apply.  Mysterymanblue  04:17, 30 June 2021 (UTC)