Posted by Rick Denney on December 17, 2003 at 13:07:54:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Beelzebub Band Parts ....Help Please posted by TubaRay on December 16, 2003 at 18:15:34:
This is correct. Before 1978, copyrights lasted for 28 years, followed by a single 28-year renewal period. 1978 minus 56 equals 1922. So any music with a copyright date of 1922 or earlier would have passed into the public domain before the new law was passed. It was not retroactive, and the general principle of copyrights is once in the public domain, always in the public domain.
After 1978, the law was changed to extend the copyright for 70 years after the author's death, if the author is known, or 70 years from the date of publication, if the author uses an untraceable nom-de-plume (or if the copyright holder is not a person). That period has been extended more recently. Finding out if something has lapsed into the public domain is now more difficult, because you have to know when the author died, or who owns the rights. You should ask the copyright owner. The copyright notice is the place to start, but that isn't conclusive. Anybody can put a copyright notice on a publication without owning the copyright. The notice is merely a warning to potential copiers that the publication is copyrighted. Without the copyright, it's still protected (though the burden of proof shifts if you end up in court over it). The copyright notice might not, therefore, identify the actual copyright owner.
So, Ray is right: Anything with a copyright date preceding 1923 is in the public domain. But make sure that the version you copy is that earliest version with the original copyright date. A newer version, with later copyrightable edits, cannot be used. If you ever get challenged, you'll have to show that the original you used was old enough to have lapsed into the public domain.
Rick "who thinks we have made a mess of copyrights" Denney