Copying old records

A nonprofit organization wants to clean up, restore, enhance, and reissue several hundred scratchy vinyl records of Eastern European folk songs originally bought in the 50's and 60's. They are under 8 labels. Five of these show the brand (label) name, song name, and the performer, such as Macedonian Folk Orchestra. No indication of company name or address or when issued.

The other 3 labels also say "Manufactured by So-and-So" with a U.S. address, but no date. Directory searches on all 3 are negative, and the people who still listen to the records have assumed for years that they no longer exist.

All the songs were (the old timers say) performed and recorded in Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia.

We conclude that U.S. copyright laws do not apply to our desire to copy these records, but state civil and criminal piracy laws do. We don't find any mention of safe harbors or due diligence in at least the California statutes.

Question: Is there anything the organization can do to ensure that it can proceed with this project without fear of nasty legal surprises?

Denis Murphy
<dmurphy139[_at_]aol.com> Received on Sun Apr 13 1997 - 00:14:37 GMT