Music Copyright Law Ch. 8

In order for a foreign work to be restored under GATT, three conditions must be met:

1. The work must have been created by an author who is a citizen or resident of a member country of the Berne Convention, WTO, or another copyright treaty with the US. 2. The work must have been first published in the foreign country and not published in the United States within 30 days after foreign publication. 3. The work's copyright must not have expired under the foreign country's copyright law. Also, The copyright owner of a restored work cannot recover for infringements that occurred when the work was in the public domain.

Two categories of works that may still be protected under common law copyright:

1. Works that have not been fixed in any tangible form 2. Sound recordings fixed before Feb. 15, 1972 (protected until Feb. 15, 2067.)

The 1976 Copyright Act extended the 1909 Act's renewal term by __ years.

19

The Sonny Bono Term Extension Act extended the renewal period further by __ years.

20

Works published before 1978 get a maximum of __ years of copyright protection.

95

Duration (Anonymous, Pseudonymous, and Works Made for Hire)

95 years from the work's first publication or 120 years from the work's creation, whichever expires first.

Example 8.14

A contract between a songwriter and a music publisher provides that the songwriter assign the copyright in a song to the publisher for 10 years. At the end of the 10-year period, the ownership of the song reverts to the songwriter. The songwriter would then own the song for the remaining period of copyright protection or could assign it to someone else.

Example 8.21

A song was published in Germany in 1949 and in the U.S. in 1950. If the copyright owner failed to file a renewal registration in 1978, the work entered the public domain in the US in 1979, although it was still protected under German copyright law. Under the GATT, the copyright is automatically restored as of January 1, 1996, and lasts through 2045.

Example 8.5

A song written as a work for hire is composed in 1995 and published in 200, the song's copyright will expire in 2095. However, if the song was not published until 2025, the copyright would expire in 2115.

Example 8.6

A song written on January 1 of any year would receive an actual copyright term of the author's life plus 10 years, 11 months, and 30 days because it would expire on December 31 of the year occurring 70 years after the author's death.

Anonymous Work

A work in which no natural person is identified as author on the copies or phonorecords of the work.

Pseudonymous Work

A work in which the author is identified under a fictitious name on the copies or phonorecords of the work.

The Rule of the Shorter Term

Allows countries the option of applying a shorter term to foreign works using the country of origin's copyright law. Depends on if the ruling country decides to apply it or not.

Most countries are part of the...

Berne Convention

Works Made For Hire

Created by an individual on behalf of an employer or hiring party.

Example 8.3

If a songwriter wrote a song in 1990 and died in 2000, the song's copyright will last through 2070.

Example 8.4

If two songwriters write a song in 1990, and one of the songwriters dies in 2000 while the other dies in 2010, the song's copyright will last through 2080.

Duration (Australia)

If you died 1956 or earlier it's life + 50 years If you died after 1956, it's life + 70 years

Duration (Mexico)

Life + 100 years starting for works created July 23, 2003. Sound recordings are 75 years from date of creation.

Duration (Japan & China)

Life + 50 years If made to be owned by a business, 50 years from publication Sound recordings are 50 years from publication.

Duration (South Korea)

Life + 50 years. However, if a work is published 40 years after the death of its author but before 50 years after the author's death, the copyright is extended for 10 years after its publication date. Sound recordings are 50 years from publication date.

Duration (Works created from 1978 to Present)

Life of author plus 70 years If a work is created by two or more authors (joint authorship), the term of copyright will last for the life of the last surviving author plus 70 years after the last surviving author's death.

Duration (1976 Copyright Act)

Life of the author plus 50 years.

Duration (Berne Convention)

Life plus 50 years though some countries have longer terms.

Duration (Canada)

Life plus 50 years. Sound recordings are protected 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which they were created.

Duration (EU)

Life plus 70 years. Sound recordings have 50 years from date of publication or 50 years after creation for non-published works.

The General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT)

Restored the copyright in certain foreign works beginning Jan. 1st, 1996.

Example 8.7

Sally Songwriter wrote a song in 1950 that was not published. If Sally died in 1980, the song was protected by common law copyright until 1978, at which time it became subject to federal copyright protection, expiring in 2050.

Example 8.8

Sammy Songwriter wrote a song in 1872 that was not published. If Sammy died in 1898, the song will be protected by common law copyright until 1978 when it became subject to federal copyright protection until 12/31/2002 because that was later than life + 70 years.

Copyright Can Actually Last Longer than Life Plus 70 Years

Section 105 of the 1976 Copyright Act provides that all terms of copyright run to the end of the calendar year in which they expire (on Dec. 31st of the year of expiration.)

Works created and published before 1978 are governed by...

The 1909 Copyright Act.

Works created beginning 1978 are governed by...

The 1976 Copyright Act.

How Do You Know If a Copyright Owner Is Dead?

The Register of Copyrights is required to maintain current records on the deaths of authors of copyrighted works derived from statements recorded by copyright interest holders.

T/F: Canadian law only recognizes a party that hires someone to create a copyrightable work as the author if there is an employment relationship between the parties.

True.

Under the 1976 Copyright Act, when does copyright protection begin?

Upon publication.

Creation (of a work)

When a work is fixed in tangible form.

Can limit a person's ownership of a copyrighted work to a period less than the full term of copyright protection?

Yes.

Did the 1976 Copyright Act abolish common law copyright for works fixed in a tangible medium?

Yes.

Have the duration provisions of both the 1909 and 1976 Acts have been amended on several occasions?

Yes.

Anyone can freely ____ a public domain work.

copy

Although public domain works are not protected by copyright, that does not mean they are...

free.

If an assignment of copyright does not clearly indicate the term of its duration...

it will be deemed effective for the remainder of the copyright term, subject to the author's termination rights.

The distinction between common law copyright and federal copyright under the 1909 Act revolved around...

publication.