[ARSCLIST] Arhoolie (et al) & copyrights--was: discogs and Arhoolie

[stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

----- Original Message -----
From: "tom@xxxxxxxxxxxx" <tom@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Or do we license all music ever made to a central database. They make it
> available to everyone under different deals. A listening library pays a
> yearly license fee, a consumer gets to download it for $?? a radio station
> pays a different fee, and internet listener another and after 75 years
it's
> P.D. and free. (I currently like 75 years, 50 is too short and US law is
> ridiculous!)
It's interesting to read this, coming as it is from an operation that
specializes
in the reissuing of old sound recordings. To me, though, it points out the
need
for a different approach to the copyright terms on sound recordings. Tom's
idea
on a term seems to be based on the age of the material they have already
issued...
which seems logical when you think about it. However, it leaves everything
<75
years old still protected, whether or not Arhoolie or someone else has it in
their catalog and thus needs protection, and thus inaccessible to anyone who
doesn't happen to have a copy of the original issue!

I still think that the best approach would be one which would be based on
whether
the copyright owner had the material available to the public. There would
have to
be a lot of fine points defined as to "available" and other limitations, but
this
would at least remedy the current situation whereby the original owner can
refuse
to (re)issue a recording and, as well, refuse to allow anyone else to do so.
In
this scenario, a reissuer such as Arhoolie would acquire an effective
copyright
to any dormant material they reissued...but only for the duration of the
availability
of their reissue. There might be problems if two different people happened
to
reissue the same dormant recording(s) effectively simultaneously and without
knowledge of the other project.

What are other thoughts on this approach?
Steven C. Barr

NOTE: This refers ONLY to the actual copyright on the sound recording, and
not
to publisher or composer rights/royalties since they latter are covered by
compulsory license.