Copyright Information
The information below is educational and not intended as legal advice. While we believe the information is accurate, we provide no guarantee or warranty concerning these materials or the interpretation or applicability of the laws to your situation. Copyright compliance is the responsibility of the user of the creative works of others. Consult your legal counsel before taking any action.
WGI Sport of the Arts requires all participating groups to comply with copyright laws regarding performance and/ or use of arrangements of copyrighted music, visual images and other materials, as well as the use of copyrighted audio, spoken text and display of copyrighted words and images. If copyright violation is found to exist, disqualification may occur.
In most cases, using musical selections in video recordings requires synchronization licensing in order to comply with copyright law. Consult your legal counsel.
Requirements for participation at WGI events:
Percussion and Winds groups competing at any WGI Event are required to secure permission to
arrange for all songs involved. We must stress that you not ignore the Permission to Arrange
requirement to participate in any WGI event.
For more information on what permissions are needed, please see this educational link.
https://wgi.clicknclear.com/en-gb/sporteducation/marching
If you need assistance securing permission to arrange, we suggest you visit wgi.clicknclear.com or Tresonamusic.com.
Once available, all groups are required to submit the Repertoire Submission Form found in the
Directors Dashboard no later than five weeks before your first event. Â Groups failing to have this
information on file may not be permitted to compete.
Please remember this is only a declaration of your repertoire so that your group’s copyright
compliance may be tracked this form is NOT a request for Permission to Arrange.
If groups do not secure licensing prior to your performance, you may incur considerable
penalties and be liable for any infringement of copyrighted materials. These penalties can
potentially reach thousands of dollars for each song infringed.
WGI VIDEO POLICY
There is no video recording permitted at any WGI event. Any liability associated with unauthorized recordings will rest with the individual or organization making the recording. WGI does not condone, nor accept any liability for, any unauthorized recording during the event.
Copyright FAQ
How do I determine the musical composition copyright holder? Composition copyrights are typically managed by music publishers. To identify the music publisher(s) for a particular song, you could first consult a CD that contains the song. If the CD identifies the performing rights society (ASCAP, BMI or SESAC), you can go to the website for the appropriate society and search the database to find the music publisher(s). Searching for the song title in the databases should give you at least the name of the music publisher, and will usually give you both the name and contact information.
Search Engines
Spoken Word / Literary Copyrights – Spoken word – Including movie quotes, and literary quotations, may contain copyrighted content.  You should exercise care to ensure that you have permission to use any copyrighted words in your show.
Visual Arts – Visual pieces of art, including photographs, are most likely copyrighted. You should exercise care to ensure that you have permission to use any copyrighted visual image in your show.