- Making copies to prevent damage is not a permitted exception under the MPA Code of Fair Practice. However in some circumstances you can make copies if damage occurs (see In an emergency above). We know some groups to make copies to prevent damage – the key thing to do here is to apply the golden rule: are you doing it to avoid hire/purchase? If yes, you shouldn’t be doing it.
- Example: you hire 60 parts and make a copy of each, so you have 120 in total:
- If 70 are being used at any given time you are copying to avoid purchasing of the extra 10 being used.
- If you have the original 60 locked in your rehearsal venue to protect them, and the 60 copies are given out to members to take home and use, and a maximum of 60 are being used at any one time then you could argue you are not doing it to avoid hire/purchase. If you did decide this you should keep control of your use of originals and copies, mark copies as being for rehearsal only, use originals in performance and destroy copies after the final performance.
