Very old Russian recording

[EdLawrence12]

I'm finishing a movie (with not much of a budget), and there's this very old Russian recording we'd just love to us. It was composed in 1908 and the author's been dead more than 70 years, so no problems there. The recording, though, the performance---it's from 1966, more than 50 years ago, so I'm hoping it's fair game, but others seem leery. Can anyone advise?

 

[quincy]

I'm finishing a movie (with not much of a budget), and there's this very old Russian recording we'd just love to us. It was composed in 1908 and the author's been dead more than 70 years, so no problems there. The recording, though, the performance---it's from 1966, more than 50 years ago, so I'm hoping it's fair game, but others seem leery. Can anyone advise?

What is the name of your state, EdLawrence, or, if not in the US, what is the name of your country?

You can use the original Russian work from 1908 as that is in the public domain in the US.

Whether you can freely use the 1966 recording of the Russian work, however, will require some research on your part. Many works published before 1978 lacked proper copyright notices and are now in the public domain. But many of these works also had their copyrights restored.

Your task will be finding out whether copyrights were restored in the 1966 version of the 1908 Russian work. If the copyrights were restored, you will need to get permission from the copyright holder to use the 1966 version of the work. If the copyrights were not restored, the 1966 work would be (like the original Russian version) in the public domain.

Good luck.

 

[adjusterjack]

Can anyone advise?

Try a search on the US Copyright Office website and see what comes up:

https://www.copyright.gov/

 

[quincy]

Try a search on the US Copyright Office website and see what comes up:

https://www.copyright.gov/

That is assuming a copyright was registered in the US.

 

[FlyingRon]

That is assuming a copyright was registered in the US.

And such is not required since the USA finally succumbed to the international copyright treaties. The Russians version of the Sonny Bono legislation extended (retroactively) duration to 70 years from the death of the author.

 

[quincy]

And such is not required since the USA finally succumbed to the international copyright treaties. The Russians version of the Sonny Bono legislation extended (retroactively) duration to 70 years from the death of the author.

Right. The copyrights are automatic and there is no registration requirement.

Owners of some of the restored copyrights, however, filed notices with the US Copyright Office ("notice of intent to enforce restored copyright"), so the copyright owners could from that date of filing forward start to charge licensing fees to those who previously used the works when the works were not protected by copyrights (even though the owner could not pursue infringement suits against those who used the works prior to restoration of rights).

 

[EdLawrence12]

Thanks, everyone! Very much appreciated---so what I understand is that if they didn't renew the copyright it's fair game, but if they did, they own it. What I'm not clear on, though, is how to find whether it's protected or not. I've tried research and just find a bunch of contradictions, with nothing specific on that recording. Puzzling.

 

[quincy]

Thanks, everyone! Very much appreciated---so what I understand is that if they didn't renew the copyright it's fair game, but if they did, they own it. What I'm not clear on, though, is how to find whether it's protected or not. I've tried research and just find a bunch of contradictions, with nothing specific on that recording. Puzzling.

Finding the holders of copyrights in old works can be difficult and time consuming. If you have a copy of the 1966 recording, you can start there by contacting those listed on the recording. Although it is nice when you can find the information quickly, that is not always possible.

If you cannot find the copyright holder - or if you cannot find out if the rights to the 1966 version were restored or not - it is safest to look for a different work to use - one that is clearly in the public domain or one whose copyright owner you can contact for a license to use.

Good luck.

 

[adjusterjack]

Then you have two choices:

Don't use it and be safe.

Use it and take your chances that you get sued back into the stone age.

 

[quincy]

You might want to see if you can find another recording/version of the Russian work - perhaps one published prior to 1923 (and therefore in the public domain) or one published more recently where the copyright holder is easy to identify and contact.

Good luck.