[Dixielandjazz] The Savory Collection .

[Jack Mitchell]

Steve wrote:-

"One big problem . . . "Copyright status". There was no agreement for
distribution rights between performer and radio stations in the 1930s.
So once the records are digitalized and perhaps issued on CD, who will
own the copyrights and will that fight delay the distribution? We
might be dead by the time it all sorts out."

Australia adopted the 70 year period for copyright on sound recordings in 
2006 as part of a "free trade" agreement with the USA. Under that rule 
anything recorded before 1940 would be out of copyright and by the end of 
2011 material recorded in 1940 would be out of copyright. I assume the same 
thing would apply in the US, as our legislators bent over backwards to 
appease American big business.

In fact our law is not quite so draconian - anything that was out of 
copyright when the act changed remained so. Thus anything recorded before 
December 31, 1955 is in the public domain in Australia. So they could easily 
be issued here and bought privately by US customers. I doubt if your custome 
would check every CD that came through the mail.

Of course the above does not apply to the music  itself - for some 
inexplicable reason music copyright lasts for the life of the composer plus 
seventy years. Marvellous, isn't it? However the copyright owners of the 
music could hardly object to the issue of further recordings of ONE O'CLOCK 
JUMP or BODY AND SOUL, although they could demand royalties.

Best wishes
Jack Mitchell
Lithgow Australia