.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries'_copyright_length
Apart from the USA, if the author has been dead for 70 years, it's free of
copyright and in the public domain and can be used.
For us, that must be a huge number of tunes (remember that collected
traditional tunes are not copyright, only the publication they were in is -
hence the large number of traditional tunes "arranged by" labels which
brings that particular arrangement into copyright).
It is a minefield, of course.
many traditional tunes have been accredited to a particular person who only
"found" them as traditional tunes and published them as composer. A hard
task to prove them wrong!
Colin Hill
----- Original Message -----
From: "Simon Wascher" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2008 2:34 PM
Subject: on copyright was: Re: [HG] Music
Hello,
Am 10.04.2008 um 14:42 schrieb Colin:
It's 50 years after the original publication that the copyright for
music runs out.
I remember, back in the 60's, a popular folk song of the time (The
Spinning Wheel - "Mellow the moonlight to shine is beginning....") came
out of copyright and everyone included it in their song lists.
Here's a good link that gives general guidelines for the UK.
This will vary depending on the country involved, of course.
It also makes the distinction between the music and the recordings made
of it.
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/protect/p07_music_copyright
in Germany and Austria, the equivalent - not the translation as it is
not te same thing - to copyright is "Urheberrecht" (literally
"originator's right") is an authors/composers right and ends 70 years
after the death of the author/composer.
It cannot be given up or sold, all you can do is not to levy it or
license it to someone. Usually composers become member of a Society for
musical performing rights if they want their rights to be accomplished
and not if not, but the right itself stays untouched.
As far as I understand this is the same in France. Maybe some of our
french list members can assist with infos on french "droits d'auteur".
S.
---
have a look at:
http://hurdygurdywiki.wiki-site.com
http://drehleierwiki.wiki-site.com
---
my site:
http://simonwascher.info
