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Why Recordings From World War I Aren't Public Domain
An anonymous reader writes "While Disney and others have done a great job pushing the end date for works entering the public domain ever further forward, most people have assumed that anything from before 1923 is in the public domain. However, it turns out that this is not true for sound recordings, in part due to an accidental quirk in copyright law history — in that Congress, way back in 1909, believed that sound recordings could not be covered by copyright (they believed the Constitution did not allow recordings to be covered), and thus, some state laws stepped up to create special copyrights for sound recordings. A court ruling then said that these state rules were not overruled by federal copyright law. End result? ANY recorded work from before 1972 (no matter how early it was recorded) won't go into the public domain until 2049 at the earliest."
Everything they stick theyre mitts on always gets shafted.
So does that mean that if we manage to record the words of Christ from a 2000 year old clay pot, the RIAA will come after us?
No, the Pope will.
Don't worry, I'll start a fund to pay your bail.
You are welcome on my lawn.
But the creator of the scream sound, along with his descendants, deserves to be compensated for his work created over half a century ago! Any talk of shared cultural significance is irrelevant nonsense; this man deserves to make money! You wouldn't break into his garage and steal his car, would you?
But remember, don't play it backwards!
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
So does that mean that if we manage to record the words of Christ from a 2000 year old clay pot, the RIAA will come after us?
No, the Pope will.
What's the difference between the Pope and the RIAA?
The Pope hasn't had a crusade since 1272
Umm, what is "&#*@" and why can't you use the actual word?