[Dixielandjazz] Copyright Law

[Rorel at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/28/2007 5:02:20 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
barbonestreet at earthlink.net writes:

We  should be very clear on copyright law. Below is the copyright law as  it
currently exists in the US of A: Note the last 3 paragraphs. Especially  the
one that explicitly says WORKS PUBLISHED IN 1922 OR EARLIER ARE IN  THE
PUBLIC DOMAIN etc, etc.

That is the CURRENT LAW whether or not  the copyright has a renewal date.


I spoke with a friend of mine who is one of the assistant Vice Presidents  at 
ASCAP yesterday and he said that this matter is not as clear cut as Steve or  
I, in my differing interpretation, claim.  The Reader's Digest version is  
that there is no rule of thumb to be applied and that each tune should be  
investigated on its own.  This pre-1922 issue is still in a state of flux  and will 
be resolved sometime in the future.
 
Isn't it nice Steve when everybody can be right?  How often does that  
happen?  Let's enjoy it while we can!
 
Ray
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