Get 1 Copyright Office - Pre-72 Study Reply Comments April 12, 2011 ... - Copyright

As mentioned above, federal copyright protection for sound recordings began for works made on or after February 15, 1972. While the Music Modernization Act provides a new form of copyright protection for pre-1972 sounds recordings, it does not provide full federal copyright protection for these works.

Sound recordings were first brought within the scope of federal copyright protection beginning in 1972. Sound recordings made before February 15, 1972 were protected by various state laws, however, some digital music services were using them without paying royalties or otherwise getting permission.

note: The Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA) granted copyright protection in the United States to certain for- eign pre-1972 sound recordings. Any copyright protection afforded to foreign pre-1972 sound recordings runs parallel to protection granted to U.S. pre-1972 sound recordings.

Keep in mind that there are two copyrights in sound recordings: the right to the recording itself, and also the right to the underlying work, often a song or piece of music. The copyright holder of a song has an interest in a recording of that song as well as the party that recorded it.

When you record a song, you may be creating two works that are protected by copyright: a musical work and a sound recording. A sound recording and the music, lyrics, words, or other content included in the recording are separate copyright-protected works.

The term of protection for sound recordings fixed prior to February 15, 1972 should be 95 years from publication or, if the work had not been published prior to the effective date of legislation federalizing protection, 120 years from fixation.

Sound recordings made before 1923 entered the public domain on January 1, 2022; recordings made between 1923 and 1946 will be protected for 100 years after publication; recordings made between 1947 and 1956 will be protected for 110 years; and all recordings made from 1957 to February 15, 1972 will have their ...

The copyright owner of a sound recording has the rights to make and distribute copies of the work and make derivative works from it (including remixes or videos using the sound recording). The public performance right for sound recordings, however, is limited to digital audio transmissions.