Anthem Arrangements Raise A Red Flag Over Authorship

Breiner says he invested considerable time and energy in orchestrating the more than 200 national anthems of the world for Athens. Many of the anthems were too long to be used at a minute-or-so medal ceremony, and had to be shortened. They also had to be approved by each individual country.Then there were 20 recording sessions that led to an eight-volume compilation on the Naxos label, which Breiner says involved 60 to 80 hours of studio time.

Breiner says he still receives regular royalties for the use of his anthems. But the Chinese, when offered the option of using the Breiner material, demurred.

"They responded that they would make their own recordings with a Chinese orchestra," Breiner said. Subsequent contacts between Naxos and Beijing organizers left Klaus Heymann, head of Naxos, concerned about that claim. Various competing claims made by the Chinese -- that they had received copies of the anthems from the International Olympic Committee and that they "found them on the Internet" -- struck Heymann as preposterous.

But it is very possible, Heymann said in an interview from Sydney, that a competent Chinese music student simply transcribed the Breiner versions from the Naxos recordings, which are available on CD and through the company's online digital library.

At this point, Heymann and Breiner are waiting for a response from the Chinese. They are collecting as many recordings of medal ceremonies as possible, and are comparing them against the Naxos recordings. And they are monitoring the Internet, where a lively discussion about the anthems is ongoing. Posters to a bulletin board maintained by Gamesbids.com have already noticed suspicious similarities between Breiner's version of the German anthem and the one being used in Beijing.

Heymann hasn't decided yet what he'll do, but if the Chinese don't acknowledge the theft, the options aren't appealing.

"It is difficult when you're dealing with another jurisdiction," says Anne Godbout, head of legal services for the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (of which Breiner is a member). A case like Breiner's, she said, would have to be fought in China.

And China, where DVDs of tomorrow's Hollywood blockbusters are available right outside your hotel, is not a place known for its strict enforcement of copyrights.