copyright extension - Vaughan Williams

From: Alexander Klett <alexander.klett[_at_]student.uni-tuebingen.de>
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 12:17:26 +0200 (MESZ)

On Mon, 22 Apr 1996, Paul Heald wrote:
>
> My wife is a choir director. Next fall we are sheduled to sing
> Ralph Vaughn Williams' "O Clap Your Hands" (1921) in our church. If
> copyright is extended another twenty years, our parishoners will pay
> $1.50 per copy per chorister. If it is not, then she may photocopy
> for about fifteen cents per chorister. Multiply that by all the
> church choirs, civic choruses, schools with music programs, etc., and
> then imagine different kinds of similarly situated works and you get
> the picture.
>
> This demonstrates the subisdy aspect of the proposed extension--
> consumers making direct transfer payments to publishers.
>
> Paul Heald
> <heald[_at_]jd.lawsch.uga.edu>

And you can be happy about this specifically American situation, Paul. I wonder whether anywhere in the world - apart from the U.S. - the piece you talk about will be public domain after 12/31/1996. Definitely not in Europe: Vaughan Williams - an English composer btw - died in 1958. Even with a period of protection of only 50 years p.m.a. (minimum in Europe before directive 93/98/EEC) all of Vaughan Williams' works were protected until 12/31/2008. After implementation of the directive they now are protected until 12/31/2028 anywhere in the European Union. You would have to wait a long time if you wanted to perform the piece in Europe after it has become public domain.

Let me add that I have followed the vivid discussion about the term of copyright duration (50 or 70 years p.m.a.) with some interest. I believe, however, that the exact period of time (50 or 70 - maybe 60 - why not 63) is not what is important (I may say this even though I am German and I realize that Germany is the culprit in this discussion since we introduced the 70 years of protection in 1965). It seems VERY important to me, however, that there be a harmonized term of protection anywhere in the world if possible. I realize that the U.S. have introduced the p.m.a. method for defining copyright duration as far as works created in or after 1978 are concerned which solves some of the problems. But the Vaughan Williams example shows that there are some very important cases (the vast majority of works were created before 1978 anyway) in which there is still copyright protection in Europe long after it has ceased in the U.S. This is what makes me unhappy.

Alex

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Alexander Klett, postgrad student
University of Tuebingen Faculty of Law
Tuebingen, Germany

                                                     "Attempto !"

alexander.klett[_at_]student.uni-tuebingen.de

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Received on Wed Apr 24 1996 - 13:43:14 GMT