copyright music
Publish rewritten sheet music
<p>I used a scorewriter to notate a musical piece. I did so by ear and I do not own the original sheet music. (If it makes any difference: I wasn't able to find the sheet music for sale anywhere online)</p>

<p>Would it be legal to publish it on a site like <a href="https://www.jellynote.com" rel="nofollow">www.jellynote.com</a>?</p>

<p>To be clear: I do not intend to make any profit from it. I just want to share my work with other people.</p>

<p>I would be especially interested in German Law. (And maybe US-Law since it will probably be uploaded to a server located in the US. Although I don't know if that's relevant)</p>

<p>Copyright in musical works extends to the composition itself, not just to the sheet music (as you notice, there may not even be any sheet music).  If the musical work is protected by copyright then publishing a transcription of that work would be a potential violation of the copyright, subject to exceptions such as <a href="/questions/tagged/fair-use" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;fair-use&#39;" rel="tag">fair-use</a> and fair dealing. </p>

<p>If the piece is in the public domain, then you can publish your transcription.</p>
