Posted by M. Arthur Auslander on December 21, 1998 at 04:11:13:
In Reply to: Copywrights of Old Broadcasts posted by Lila on December 19, 1998 at 13:08:15:
: I am planning on doing a multimedia project on old radio.
: I was hoping to include portions of old radio broadcasts.
: Someone told me that if a broadcast was old enough that it
: then became public domain. Is this true? Maybe it just depends
: on what kind of a broadcast it was like Armed Forces Radio,
: independent vs.Network, etc. This project is a graduate school
: project, but I was thinking of eventually finishing it for commercial purposes.
: Are there publications available that focuses on copywrights of broadcasts?
: Any advice would be most appreciated.
Prior to 1978 or possibly 1979. Copyrights were for 28 year renewable for 28. After live plus 50. 75 years to non human registrants and renewals of old copyrights for 47 years. New applications had to be made within 100 years of creation. The law has recently been amended to make copyrights good for life plus 70. Law libraries are the best place to research. Regular libraries may have guidance as to the state of the law. There are questions also as to who may be a proprietor and what can be used as a fair use. I suggest caution.
M. Arthur Auslander
Auslander & Thomas
505 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10018
212-594-6900, fax 212-244-0028, aus@auslander.com
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