I am a little confused by your discussion, Dave. If Orchard does not own
the master tape of that 10" LP, then I don't understand what they think
they own. No sound recording made prior to 1972 is (or ever was)
copyrightable under US federal copyright law, and state law copyright is a
morass of uncertainty and inconsistency that is wildly different from state
to state. Putting aside the mechanical copyrights (ownership of the songs
themselves, which is very different than the sound recording), all Orchard
can own under at least federal copyright law is a copy of the record
itself, just like you and Doug do, assuming they don't physically own the
master tape as an asset (which is a valuable thing to own, but that is not
a copyright issue and does not give you the right to prevent anyone from
doing anything). A takedown notice would have to be very carefully worded
to be accurate and would not be meaningful in most states. Since the 1951
sound recording was not copyrighted under federal law, it also never
reaches Public Domain. Such pre-1972 recordings get the protection of
neither copyright nor PD. In most other places in the world, this
recording is way into PD, with no doubts attached.
Best,
John Haley
On Sep 27, 2015 9:47 AM, "Doug Pomeroy" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi David,
>
> I have that album, in E condition, but not with that album cover.
> It's a wonderful concert, and well recorded. Also, probably the
> only existing recording of tenor saxophonist Gerald Brashear.
>
> DOUG POMEROY
> Audio Restoration & Mastering Services
> 193 Baltic St Brooklyn, NY 11201-6173
> (718) 855-2650
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> > Date: Sat, 26 Sep 2015 07:13:50 -0400
> > From: David Lewis <[log in to unmask]>
> > Subject: Welcome to the Orchard
> >
> > One company name that crops up on YouTube frequently in regard to music
> > files is Orchard Enterprises, whose copyright may be seen on
> > releases from Sony, Documents and other labels -- it's quite ubiquitous.
> I
> > was curious about them, so I looked them up on NASDAQ, which
> > reads:
> >
> > "Digital Music Group, Inc. was incorporated in April 2005 to become a
> > leading owner of digital rights to music and other sound recordings and
> > distributor of these recordings to online music stores. Concurrently with
> > the completion of this offering, we have agreed to acquire Digital
> > Musicworks..."
> >
> > That's where it runs out. The company link provided does not work for me.
> >
> > I note their copyright on a recording by Cecil Young. Young's album "A
> > Concert of Cool Jazz" was recorded in Seattle in 1951 by Young himself
> > and provided to Syd Nathan, who released it on King Records as its first
> > 10" LP the following year. King discontinued making 10" LPs in 1956,
> > and this particular album has never been offered again. Young died around
> > 1976, and the recordings made by King belong to Gusto, which has
> > never revived this particular recording.
> >
> > Orchard's copy is in poor condition and certainly does not involve any
> kind
> > of tape. They frequently issue takedown notices to other users, as per
> > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orchard_(company) My concern is that
> who
> > would issue a takedown notice to them when they are infringing on
> > something in the public domain? Which I suspect the Cecil Young recording
> > would be -- it was issued just that one time, in 1952, and was never
> > seen again.
> >
> > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDH5EJNialY
> >
> > best,
> >
> > David N. Lewis
> > Hamilton, OH
>
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