[78-L] European Sound Recording Copyright Extension

[Cary Ginell]

Any composition that was going to expire after its 75 year term was up (e.g. Rhapsody in Blue, which would have gone P.D. on January 1, 2000), now has an extra 20 years tacked onto its life. Copyrighted works published before January 1, 1978 are NOT grandfathered into the Life + 70 rule - for the U.S., that is. As an example, under the current law, Rhapsody in Blue will go into the public domain IN THE U.S. on January 1, 2020, 95 years after it was copyrighted. For the rest of the world, Rhapsody in Blue will go P.D. on January 1, 2018, or 70 years after the death of Gershwin. So the rarity is that a song will go P.D. for the rest of the world BEFORE it does so in the States.

Cary Ginell

> Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:44:17 -0400
> From: mbiel at mbiel.com
> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
> Subject: Re: [78-L] European Sound Recording Copyright Extension
> 
> On 9/15/2011 5:48 PM, Cary Ginell wrote:
> > Understand that the Life + 70 rule concerns post-1978 copyrights only. Anything prior to that is subject to the 28 + 28 + 19 year rule.
> >
> > Cary Ginell
> 
> No, I understood that anything that was in copyright at the time of the 
> new law going into effect was grandfathered into the life plus 70 (now 
> life plus 90). Your formula would mean that for pre-1978 copyrights we 
> would be up to around 1935 in P.D. if the 19 years was added onto the 
> original 56 years.   Unless you are saying that the 75 years was with 
> the clock starting in 1978.
> 
>    (And speaking of grandfathered, it is smart for an author to include 
> a grandkid into the composing rights to make the term real 
> llloooonnnngggggggg.)
> >> Don Cox wrote:
> >>
> >>> That is a relief.
> >>>
> >>> Really, most of the material that the owners neglect and that is worth
> >>> reissuing dates from before 1962.
> >>>
> 
> This is a good point, Don.  Of course this is from the vantage point of 
> us preservationists, but the restriction would really mostly affect the 
> electronic re-mix and sampling artists who like to utilize recognizable 
> chunks in their works.
> 
> Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com
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