The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: Russian Composers

Author: mrn
Date: 2008-12-18 22:34

davyd wrote:

<<Leaving aside the issue of who was or wasn't a communist, what are the copyright issues involved with music of this period?>>

This is an interesting question. Whether something from this period is subject to copyright or not depends on a lot of facts, such as where and when the work was first published, what countries you intend to use the work in, etc. You need to do a thorough investigation of the history of the work and consult a qualified copyright attorney to give you a definitive answer. (Also, what I write here is just for informational purposes--I'm not giving a legal opinion here, so don't rely on what I have to say.)

As it turns out, though, a lot of Soviet works are considered public domain in the U.S. because until 1967 was not a party to any international copyright treaties. You can't blindly rely on this rule, however, because there are a number of pre-1967 Soviet works that *are* under copyright in the U.S.

It was a fairly common practice of Soviet authors in those days to have their works first published in an "international treaty country" (a country that is a party to a copyright treaty the U.S. is also a party to) thereby triggering U.S. protection. Doctor Zhivago is one of these works. Since it was first published in Italy, it enjoys U.S. copyright protection.

Clearly there are some works by the great composers of the Soviet Union that are public domain in the U.S., though. In the 1940s Shostakovich, Prokofieff, Khachaturian, and Miaskovsky brought a lawsuit to enjoin 20th Century Fox from using their music in a film critical of the Soviet Union. Because the works in question were considered public domain in the U.S. and the U.S. does not recognize "moral rights" of composers (as opposed to mere copyright), the court dismissed the case.

Incidentally, the same composers brought the same case in France (which recognizes "moral rights" in addition to copyright) and won there. So that just goes to show you that there are no easy answers to these copyright questions--especially on an international scale.

Post Edited (2008-12-19 00:30)

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics

Author

Date

Russian Composers new

clariknight

2008-12-18 12:00