Comments Submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office Regarding Pre-1972 Sound Recordings

Abstract

The U.S. Copyright Office solicited comments regarding the possibility of extending federal copyright protection to sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972. Such recordings may have some state or common law copyright protection, but most are in the public domain. These comments outline some of the complications in lawmaking that often result from extending protection to works that were previously available to the public without copyright protection. Lessons are derived from such examples as the creation of new protection for architectural works and the restoration of foreign works.

Keywords: copyright, sound recordings, copyright duration, public domain