US Copyright laws RE/printed music & Performance

1998-11-26 05:00 am

General Copyright Information

The information shown below are excerpts from various web site regarding copyrights and their application to reproduction of printed music and performance of copyrighted music. The information is not intended to be all inclusive but rather a starting point for those NWC users wanting to know more about copyrights.

See the REF: web sites for other pertinent information. Look at 1 and 4 for reproducing copies and performing music.
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In the United States, these seven rights are recognized:

1) the reproductive right: the right to reproduce the work in copies;
2) the adaptative right: the right to produce derivative works based on the copyrighted work;
3) the distribution right: the right to distribute copies of the work;
4) the performance right: the right to perform the copyrighted work publicly;
5) the display right: the right to display the copyrighted work publicly;
6) the attribution right (sometimes called the paternity
right): the right of the author to claim authorship of the work and to prevent the use of his or her name as the or of a work he or she did not create;
7) the integrity right: the right of an author to prevent the use of his or her name as the author of a distorted version of the work, to prevent intentional distortion of the work,and to prevent destruction of the work.

FACT: (not part of web site) copyright covers printed music and performance of music.

For works published in the years 1904 through 1963, the copyright lasted for 28 years from date of publication; if the copyright was not renewed, it lapsed, and the work went into the public domain. Another 28 years of
protection could be obtained by filing a renewal, for a total term of 56 years (1906 comes from the fact that the U.S. effectively switched to a 47-year second term in 1962, and 1962 minus 56 (the old maximum duration
of two 28-year terms) equals 1906). If the copyright was not renewed after its initial 28-year term, the work lapsed into public domain.
Generally, all copyrights secured in 1918 or earlier lapsed at the latest in 1993 and are now in public domain (1993 (last year) minus 75 equals 1918). Copyrights secured in the period 1919 through 1949 continue to
exist only if they were renewed, and expire in the period 1994 through 2024.

REF: http://ftp://ftp.aimnet.com/pub/users/carroll/law/copyright/faq/part2

§ 302. Duration of copyright: Works created on or after January 1,
1978

(a) In General. Copyright in a work created on or after January 1, 1978, subsists from its creation and, except as provided by the following subsections, endures for a term consisting of the life of the author and fifty years after the author's death.

(b) Joint Works. In the case of a joint work prepared by two or more authors who did not work for hire, the copyright endures for a term consisting of the life of the last surviving author and fifty years after such last surviving author's death.

REF: http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/title17/3-302.html

HOW LONG COPYRIGHT PROTECTION ENDURES

Works Originally Created On or After January 1, 1978

A work that is created (fixed in tangible form for the first time) on or after January 1, 1978, is automatically protected from the moment of its creation and is ordinarily given a term enduring for the author’s life plus an additional 50 years after the author’s death. In the case of “a joint work prepared by two or more authors who did not work for hire,” the term lasts for 50 years after the last surviving author’s death. For works made for hire, and for anonymous and pseudonymous works (unless the author’s identity is revealed in Copyright Office records), the duration of copyright
will be 75 years from publication or 100 years from creation, whichever is shorter.

Works Originally Created Before January 1, 1978, But Not Published or Registered by That Date

These works have been automatically brought under the statute and are now given Federal copyright protection. The duration of copyright in these works will generally be computed in the same way as for works created on or after January 1, 1978: the life-plus-50 or 75/100-year terms will apply to them as well. The law provides that in no case will the term of copyright for works in this category expire before December 31, 2002, and for works published on or before December 31, 2002, the term of copyright will not expire before December 31, 2027.

Works Originally Created and Published or Registered Before January 1, 1978

Under the law in effect before 1978, copyright was secured either on the date a work was published or on the date of registration if the work was registered in unpublished form. In either case, the copyright endured for a first term of 28 years from the date it was secured. During the last (28th) year of the first term, the copyright was eligible for renewal. The current copyright law has extended the renewal term from 28 to 47 years for copyrights that were subsisting on January 1, 1978, making these works eligible for a total term of protection of 75 years.

Public Law 102-307, enacted on June 26, 1992, amended the 1976 Copyright Act to extend automatically the term of copyrights secured between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977, to the further term of 47 years. Although the renewal term is automatically provided, the Copyright Office does not issue a renewal certificate for these works unless a renewal application and fee are received and registered in the Copyright Office.

P.L.102-307 makes renewal registration optional. There is no need to make the renewal filing in order to extend the original 28-year copyright term to the full 75 years. However, some benefits accrue from making a renewal registration during the 28th year of the original term.

For more detailed information on renewal of copyright and the copyright term, request Circular 15, “Renewal of Copyright”; Circular 15a, “Duration of Copyright”; and Circular 15t, “Extension of Copyright Terms.”

REF: http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html#hlc

Looks like 75 year copyright protection is the magic number. Therefore 1998 - 75 = 1923. Any music prior to 1923
should be in public domain.

Re: US Copyright laws RE/printed music & Performance

Reply #1 – 1998-11-29 05:00 am

Don,

There is also a restriction on transcription that restricts this to the copyright holder or his/her agent. Is this so?

What category does this fall under - reproductive or adaptive?

Barry

Re: US Copyright laws RE/printed music & Performance

Reply #2 – 1998-11-29 05:00 am

Hi Barry

Suggest you review the references I made. There is a lot of other material there. I did not try to cover all the bases.

Also suggest you search on US Copyright Laws (I did) and you might find the answer to your question.

Don F