Re: [ARSCLIST] Correspondence with Lawrence Lessig

[stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

----- Original Message -----
From: "James L Wolf" <jwol@xxxxxxx>
>     The life+70 term is for everything after 1977, sound recordings and
> all. Except copyrights held by corporations are for 95 years I think.
> Everything published 1964-77 gets an automatic 95 years. Things
> published from 1923-1963 get 95 years total if they were renewed before
> their first 28 years were up (otherwise PD).
However, who owns the copyright to a sound recording (or does that depend
on the contract(s) the artist(s) signed? As I understand it, virtually all
of the 78-era recordings are considered "works for hire," since the artists
usually received a fixed salary for the sessions, and thus the copyrights
belong to the employer or their assignees. However, there are cases where
artists were able to establish ownership subsequent to the demise of the
companies involved...
>     Sound Recordings before 1972 have no federal copyright protection.
> But the morass of state laws remain in effect (unless changed by their
> respective states) until Feb. 2067, at which point all pre-1972
> recordings enter the Publc Domain. Not that the Corporate Oligarchy will
> let that happen, but that's the law for now. The state laws carry real
> weight. Try to bootleg the Beatles openly and you'll just get hauled
> into a New York court instead of a federal one.
>    Royalties are another issue entirely and are addressed in contracts
> and the laws that cover them. Don't the companies that handle
> "performance rights" such as Harry Fox, ASCAP and BMI handle this stuff?
> I guess just Harry Fox for recordings. They are hired by the record
> companies to collect the money and distribute the royalties, just as the
> music publishers hire ASCAP and BMI for the same purpose.
As I understand it (and I'll open this for discussion), HFA is the only
agwncy (ther may be other similar ones) who have to be paid by the recording
artist or record firm; ASCAP/BMI/SOCAN/et al are only payable when the song
is performed before an audience (live or via a recording) who have paid
an admission to hear it.
Steven C. Barr