[ Ref. "Pirated Piano Rolls" in 120605 & 120607 MMDigests

Regarding Mr. Caulfield's questions about revisions to copyright as
they pertain to player rolls, perhaps I should have been more clear.
The copyright law itself was changed in 1909 to provide copyright
protection for composers of musical works and to prevent unauthorized
copying of such works by persons not licensed by the composer.

By a series of lawsuits, based on the precedent set in 1912 by the
one reported on in the link below, a body of case law was established
wherein the protections contained within the 1909 copyright revision
came to cover player rolls.  This case was cited as precedent for
a series of other cases over approximately the next decade, in which
a number of small firms were successfully prosecuted for copyright
infringement.

http://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1912-54-26/MTR-1912-54-26-29.pdf (854.8 kb)

It is interesting to note that the counsel for the defendant in the
case, Royal Music Rolls, claimed that the 1909 law made no explicit
provision for player rolls.  However, the lawyers for the plaintiff,
Aeolian, successfully argued that the law protected the composer and
his licensees from unauthorized copying by outside parties.  In so
doing the judge in this case was, essentially, treating the roll
manufacturers as if they were music publishers; that is, "licensees"
of the composer.

Bryan Cather
Saint Louis, Missouri