NYTimes.com Article: European Copyrights Expiring on Recordings From1950's

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

A most interesting piece; only the first portion is reproduced below, but 
do consult the online site for an explication of the particular 
difficulties faced by EMI re. the recordings of Maria Callas.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
European Copyrights Expiring on Recordings From 1950's

January 2, 2003
By ANTHONY TOMMASINI 
 
European copyright protection is expiring on a collector's trove of 1950's
jazz, opera and early rock 'n' roll albums, forcing major American record
companies to consider deals with bootleg labels and demand new customs
barriers.

Already reeling from a stagnant economy and the illegal but widespread
downloading of copyrighted music from the Internet, the recording
companies will now face a perfectly legal influx of European recordings of
popular works.

Copyright protection lasts only 50 years in European Union countries,
compared with 95 years in the United States, even if the recordings were
originally made and released in America. So recordings made in the early-
to mid-1950's - by figures like Maria Callas, Elvis Presley and Ella
Fitzgerald - are entering the public domain in Europe, opening the way for
any European recording company to release albums that had been owned
exclusively by particular labels.

Although the distribution of such albums would be limited to Europe in
theory, record-store chains and specialty outlets in the United States
routinely stock foreign imports.

Expiring copyrights could mean much cheaper recordings for music lovers,
but they do not bode well for major record companies. (These copyrights
apply to only the recordings, not the music recorded.) The expected crush
of material entering the public domain has already sent one giant company,
EMI Classics, into a shotgun marriage with a renegade label that it had
long tried to shut down to protect its lucrative Callas discography. The
influx also has the American record industry talking about erecting a
customs barrier.

``The import of those products would be an act of piracy,'' said Neil
Turkewitz, the executive vice president international of the Recording
Industry Association of America, which has strongly advocated for
copyright protections. ``The industry is regretful that these absolutely
piratical products are being released.''

The industry association is trying to persuade European Union countries to
extend copyright terms. Meanwhile, Mr. Turkewitz said, ``we will try to
get these products blocked,'' arguing that customs agents ``have the
authority to seize these European recordings even in the absence of an
injunction brought by the copyright owners.''

[SNIP SNIP SNIP]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/02/international/02CND_COPY.html?ex=1042559430&ei=1&en=3b861a69f9639e9a

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