[Dixielandjazz] More copyright questions...sheesh!

[Creole Dixieland Jazz Band]

Regarding this pesky copyright stuff. I found this info on this site:

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#hlc

...the U. S. Copyright Office site.
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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 with a copyright notice 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registration if the work was registered in unpublished form.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 Copyright Act of 1976 extended the renewal term
from 28 to 47 years for copyrights that were subsisting on January 1, 1978,
or for pre-1978 copyrights restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act
(URAA), making these works eligible for a total term of protection of 75
years. Public Law 105-298, enacted on October 27, 1998, further extended the
renewal term of copyrights still subsisting on that date by an additional 20
years, providing for a renewal term of 67 years and a total term of
protection of 95 years.

Public Law 102-307, enacted on June 26, 1992, amended the 1976 Copyright Act
to provide for automatic renewal of the term of copyrights secured between
January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977. 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.

Public Law 102-307 makes renewal registration optional. Thus, filing for
renewal registration is no longer required in order to extend the original
28-year copyright term to the full 95 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."
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So? What about our tunes written/published in the 1920s? Do we pay royalties
or not? Anyone have an idea? What's your interpretation of these paragraphs?

Thanks, again. Trying to do the right thing,

Dave
=======================
"It's a treat to beat your feet."
The Creole Dixieland Jazz Band
Dave Gravatt
417-581-5626
www.CreoleJazz.com