> the idea of a guitar tab being copyrighted is strange to me. The copyright lies in the musical composition itself. A graphical representation of that musical

> the idea of a guitar tab being copyrighted is strange to me. The copyright lies in the musical composition itself. A graphical representation of that musical composition, whether in the form of classical sheet music or guitar tablature, may infringe that copyright if it is not licensed or made by the composer. Note: This may be more complicated when the tablature is made from a recording by a musician other than the original composer because the musician may have added embelishments, accents, or stylistic elements that are not part of the original composition but are separately copyrightable. In that case then a tablature may infringe on two persons' copyrights, those of the original composer and those of the recording musician. > So how would you be able to tell whether it was infringing or not? You tell the same way that you can tell whether any item is infringing: If it was not made by or under license from the copyright owner, then it may be infringing.