Friends,
I would note that in response to part of what John Howell wrote:
...Anything published after that is probably still under copyright,
meaning that it belongs to the copyright owner, and you must ask
permission to use it, and pay whatever fee or royalty the copyright
owner asks or not use it
that the word "probably" may be overstating the case. Items copyrighted
in the U.S. after 1923, and before a date in the mid 1960's (If I
remember correctly, and I don't have time at the moment to be sure that
I do) were copyrighted for a term of 28 years, and then, for the
copyright to remain in force, had to be renewed. The copyright office
has reported that of all of the copyrights which required renewal, half
were never renewed, and these items are in the public domain.
My recollection is that in the mid 1960's, renewal was made automatic.
It may also be worth taking to account that copyrights are granted, and
renewed without test of the validity of the copyright. I've seen
copyrights claimed on the basis of respelling a single chord, or
changing a single word in a lyric, and I doubt very much that if tested
in court, that these copyright claims would be sustained.
ns
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