Trying to Determine Rights in Pre-1972 Sound Recordings

Audio recordings of speech, musical instruments or any other sounds created before Feb. 15, 1972, are treated very differently from other recorded sounds under U.S. law. Each of the 50 states is free to apply its own rules to the protection of audio sound recordings made before Feb. 15, 1972, and may continue to do so for the next 54 years. As a consequence, the scope of protection for pre-1972 sound recordings is inconsistent from state to state, often vague and sometimes difficult to discern. In contrast, sound recordings made on and after Feb. 15, 1972, are governed by the U.S. Copyright Act, which imposes uniform treatment nationwide. The discrepancy is explained by the fact that Congress never saw fit to bring domestic pre-1972 sound recordings within the scope of federal copyright protection. (Certain pre-1972 sound recordings of foreign origin were given U.S. federal copyright protection beginning in 1996 under the 1994 Uruguay Round Agreements Act in order to comply with U.S. treaty obligations.) As a result, online radio stations, documentary film makers, archivists and others who copy, publicly perform, excerpt or adapt such sound recordings are exposed to uncertainty and confusion.