My own long investigations was about scores. Conclusion: if someone want declare that you have violated something, he/she will, the result depends from the experience of lawyers on both sides. The content is irrelevant...
Pure math: C major has 7 tones, how many different 10 notes sequences exists?
And less mathematical: is there any combination which was NOT used so far by someone?
 
Mentioned loyalty free copyright exists also for scores... Any "edition" of score can be copyrighted. I have failed to find and definition how different it should be from the original, I conclude it can be IDENTICAL. So, if someone typeset some J.S. Bach score and you play using it, you are using copyrighted material.
 
With scores of "popular songs" it is even better: you officially pay for the score, but you are allowed to play in only alone (group should buy respective number of copies) at home, for yourself, your family and "friends". But not when your colleagues are around (even at your home), and nowhere outside your private place. Sure, you are allowed... if you pay per performance. Note, all that is NOT about commercial performance, NOT recording, NOT professional! If that is the case, you are either not allowed at all or should pay more (much more). At least here, in Germany, it is so fancy
 
So, the best advise - do not think about it, the live is short...

Moshkito
Hi,
 
It also tells you that the "music business" is making sure you do not "own" anything, when you use their software. In my book, this is all the more reason for you to stop using a lot of the software out there ... and start doing music yourself. 
 
The inevitable problem is ... when you want an orchestra, and IK owns the sounds, for using the software, Trillion owns the bass sound you used, and pretty soon ... you don't own anything. The music business does.
 
At least they are not going around saying they own the piece of music! Just the sounds you used ... which in many ways, is too close to the whole thing for my tastes. I'm waiting for Fender and Gibson, to start charging you for the use of their guitars ... !!! Yeah!!!

Well, none of us own the copy of Windows we use, nor do any of us own the Sonar recording software that we use.  Nonetheless, Windows and all other marketed software, is intended to be used.  Think about it - you own your car, but not the proprietary electronics in the various computers that make your car work.  
 
I am completely FINE with EastWest owning the actual sample libraries that I rent from them on a monthly basis - I can use them to my heart's content, other than giving them away or selling them to someone else.  If it were MY sample library company, I sure wouldn't want folks giving away my products either.
 
Of course the above is only my own opinion - and in any case I hope you are able to meet and exceed your musical and life goals and that you are happy with it all as you move through everything :)
 
Bob Bone
 

azslow3
Mentioned loyalty free copyright exists also for scores... Any "edition" of score can be copyrighted. I have failed to find and definition how different it should be from the original, I conclude it can be IDENTICAL. So, if someone typeset some J.S. Bach score and you play using it, you are using copyrighted material.

As I understand things, in English law at least the copyright in the Bach score would lie in the printed layout, fonts used etc., not the music itself. Anything Bach wrote went out of copyright centuries ago. What the score publisher's copyright means is that you can not copy their publication and publish or distribute it without permission. Make a fresh version of the score yourself however, so long as you haven't copied their layout then you should be OK.

Playing from the score does not give the score publisher any copyright, licence or royalty interest in your performance. In the case of J S Bach, the composer won't be due for any royalties either.

As for how to make the score different enough to claim copyright, that's down to ensuring the graphical layout, logos etc. are different to the other publisher's. Publishers of out of copyright sheet music are generally mostly interested in preventing someone buying one copy, copying it and distributing it. Without adequate intellectual property/copyright protection for the publisher, publishing Bach scores (to stay with that example) would be a way to lose money fast.

Have you considered emailing the company to ask for clarification on the "use" of their samples in your music that you wish to release or use in a commercial manner? 
 
There are some loops out there that specifically forbid the use of their loops in any sort of commercial release unless you buy the extra license for that.  I was about to pick up a program some time back to create loops for film and TV when I read their license agreement and saw that the loops were licensed for private use only and additional licensing would be required to use them commercially.
 
Bummer.  Read it carefully and if you are in doubt, contact the company for a definitive answer.

I always used to attempt and recreate a loop if I really liked it.  That way I learned how it was built and it was now mine (albeit with the usual potential sound-alike issues which are made so broad now that a guitar lick can be compared to a cowbell hit...).

So here's an interesting question. How do you register copyright on your song that uses licensed loops or samples? It would appear that your song is a derivative work in that case, as a collage of someone else's photographs would be. That requires a different type of registration, in which you detail the portions of the work that are your own and those that are from another author. Another problem occurs if your license for the other author's content, like some commercial and many Creative Commons or FreeSound.org licenses, requires attribution on publication. Some songs might require multi-page liner notes to list all the borrowed content, and where do you put the attribution on a download?
 
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ14.pdf
https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Best_practices_for_attribution
https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Marking_Works_Technical

The best option is to use loops and programs that allow you to use their content license free in your original works no matter what the application.

Guitarhacker
The best option is to use loops and programs that allow you to use their content license free in your original works no matter what the application.

In most of the world, as soon as content is recorded it is copyrighted. There is no mechanism for the author of a work to extinguish the copyright that automatically attaches. Consequently, there is no way that anyone can allow you to use their copyrighted content "license free." If they say that you can use it, that statement is itself a license. That is why Creative Commons (or similar free to everyone) licenses are necessary if you want to give away your intellectual property. The only material you can use license free is material that is in the public domain. In the US at least, everything that has been recorded as analog or digital sound is usually still under copyright (at least if all the extension options have been exercised), unless it is ineligible for copyright in the first place such as  a work authored by the US federal government.
 
Using programs like Sonar to record your own work does not give Cakewalk any copyright interest in the work, any more than Yamaha gets a copyright stake in a recording of a piano concerto performed on their instrument. But a loop is a recorded piece of music with both author rights and master recording rights attached. A lot of the content (samples, loops etc.) you receive with Sonar or Cakewalk instruments is copyrighted, and is licensed explicitly as to how it can be incorporated into your work. 

From the UK horse's mouth -

"What is a sample?
A sample is an excerpt from a pre-existing piece of music that is used in a new piece of music.

Using a sample
To use an existing copyright you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Any piece of music containing a sample must be cleared with the original copyright owner, no matter how small the sample.

Registering samples

Samples can be registered by:

The new copyright owner (the original copyright owner must be listed and the shares allocated)
The record company applying for clearance to record music including a sample
When registering:

Include details of the sampled work when registering the new piece of music
The copyright owner of the original piece of work and the copyright owner of the piece of music containing the sample, should both decide on their share of the royalty.
Once we have been notified of the new music, the shares will be registered as requested and all parties informed.

Disputes

The Sampling Dispute Claims set out the situations where a sample may be disputed and our disputes procedure.

If you have a dispute it may be worth seeking further help. The MPA (Music Publisher Association) offers a comprehensive mediation service. For more information see the MPA Website."

http://www.prsformusic.co...les/pages/samples.aspx

The six page pdf that goes into all the gory details is here -

http://www.prsformusic.co...ples%20June%202012.pdf

Which makes everything perfectly clear. Or not.

Reply #15 above.
(Just sayin'...)