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Sarah, The experts should weight in on this approach, but if you will only be using a short segment of any performance, it probably falls under the "fair use" umbrella and is therefor OK. The length of the allowed segment is, I believe, quite short. On 6/26/2012 8:48 AM, Sarah Cole wrote: > Thank you all for your very helpful advice, it's much appreciated. > > I perhaps should have made it clear that this isn't a proper movie, more of > a compilation of 1940s footage, and predominantly for use in schools or > suchlike - it will used by a charity and generate no revenue that I can > think of. > > It seems somewhat absurd that the recordings are public domain in the UK > and Europe, but not in America. Out of interest, is it only America where > they aren't public domain, or would it vary from country to country? > > David, I hope you'll forgive my ignorance - this is really an area I know > very little about, but to clarify - do I have to clear the > composition through a performance rights agency because although the > performance in question is public domain, the composition itself is not? > > Best, Sarah > > --- > On 26 June 2012 15:35, David Lewis <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> Jubilee Stomp is a Duke Ellington composition, and it is still copyrighted >> -- along with the rest of the catalog -- by Mills Music Inc., which has an >> office in the UK. The Duke recorded this piece for four different labels. >> The Vocalion version belongs to Universal, and the Victor and Okeh versions >> by Sony/BMG in the US. The Cameo/Pathé version is in a grey area; that is >> part of the ARC legacy that passed to CBS in 1938 but some of that property >> was traded to Decca as part of their purchase of Brunswick; no one really >> knows what went where in that case in terms of masters, or even what from >> Cameo/Pathé may still survive in the master space, or survived even in >> 1938. Probably nothing; even in the 1960s, Columbia was using commercial >> 78s as their source for material from that label in reissues. Most >> clearances from that time regarding that label, however, were made through >> CBS. >> >> In the UK, all of this is moot, as for the time being these are all well >> behind the copyright curve. But you'd still need to clear the composition >> through a performance rights agency. >> >> David "Uncle Dave" Lewis >> Lebanon, OH >> >> On Tue, Jun 26, 2012 at 9:49 AM, Wolf, James L <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> >>> Sarah, >>> >>> Tiger Rag is a 1917 composition and thus in the Public Domain. The >> early >>> 1929 Brunswick recording by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra is owned by >>> Universal. Barring any further extentions of copyright terms, it will >> enter >>> the Public Domain in 2067. However, in Europe, U.K. and Canada, this >>> recording is already PD. >>> >>> James >>> >>> >>> All opinions are personal and do not reflect Library of Congress policy >> or >>> position. >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List [mailto: >>> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sarah Cole >>> Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2012 9:07 AM >>> To: [log in to unmask] >>> Subject: [ARSCLIST] Recordings of 1920s 78rpm Records - Public Domain? >>> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> I was hoping someone here might be able to help me with a query relating >>> to the copyright status of digital recordings taken from 1920s 78rpm >>> records, with particular reference to Duke Ellington's early sound >>> recordings. >>> >>> I have downloaded some 1920s pieces of his for a project I am working on; >>> I'd like to use these songs as the soundtrack to a film aimed at >> educating >>> children about life in the 1940s, which would likely end up >>> publicly-viewable online but not make any money. All of the pieces I have >>> chosen are listed as public domain on the Internet Archive or elsewhere. >>> These entries, for example, are two of the pieces I would like to use: >>> http://archive.org/details/DukeEllington-TigerRag and >>> http://funfunfunmedia.com/2010/12/duke-ellington-jubilee-stomp-mp3. >>> >>> My problem is this: these websites say that these recordings are public >>> domain, but I am struggling to see how they could be, given that they >> were >>> recorded around (I believe) 1928. My understanding was that music >> recorded >>> after 1923 was almost certainly copyrighted in the US. Does the fact that >>> these recordings are made from 78rpm records affect their status? And >> does >>> my being UK-based make any difference? >>> >>> I would very grateful indeed if anyone could offer any advice on this >>> matter, as I've been looking everywhere for an answer with no luck. >>> >>> Many thanks, >>> >>> Sarah >>> -- *Pete Tinker* West Hills, CA 91307 818-three/four/six-5213 818-six/nine/four-5213 /(cell)/