IMSLP Forums

On 1st November 2013 the copyright was extended in the EC on performances - see: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/directive201177eu.pdf. However, as a devastating footnote, the copyright on co-written works was also extended from 50 to 70 years:

5 Co-written works
The term of copyright in the music and the lyrics in a musical work with words where both are written specifically
for each other by different people (a song from a musical, for example) will last until 70 years following the death
of the last surviving composer or lyricist. Copyright legislation in place prior to implementation of the Directive
means that the separate terms of copyright in the music and the lyrics run independently of each other.

So I think that means that any instrumental version of a work that originally had words with it and may be on this site could be extended. For example, if I posted a piano solo reduction of (say) Puccini's 'Turandot' here, which might have been OK as Puccini died in 1924, it would now be in copyright in the EU until 2023 which is 70 years after the end of the year in which Puccini's last Italian lyricist died! Is my interpretation correct?

They regulations give a specific example:

An example of where copyright will be revived by the new regulations is in the music for the opera Rusalka by the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. The libretto was written by Jaroslav Kvapil.
Dvořák died in 1904; therefore the copyright in the music expired in the UK at the end of 1974 (i.e. life of the author plus 70 years). Kvapil on the other hand lived until 1950, so the copyright in the libretto will not expire in the UK until the end of 2020. In this case, copyright in the music will be revived and will expire at the end of
2020, i.e. at the same time as the copyright in the words

However, they go on to say that:

Where copyright has been revived the copyright owner will enjoy the same exclusive rights as they would in any new work. However there will be no infringement of the revived copyright (in the words or the lyrics) under the following circumstances:

• any act that is done before 1st November 2013;
• where copies of the work (i.e. the words or the lyrics) are issued to the public after 1st November 2013 provided those copies were made prior to that date;
• any copy or adaptation made, or arranged to be made, before the 1st November 2013;
• where the copyright owner cannot reasonably be found

I would interpret that second point as meaning that anything already on IMSLP prior to 1 November 2013 isn't affected, so we don't need to block Rusalka in the EU. Can we get a legal opinion to confirm this?

The third point seems to me to cover a piano reduction quite nicely.

Melodia wrote:The third point seems to me to cover a piano reduction quite nicely.

Without further work I think that would only exempt a pre-existing a paper copy/adaptation. I've no idea of the situation of an electronic version in cyberspace. The whole situation is absurd. The most extreme example I can think of, other than Russalka, is Puccini's popular 'Suor Angelica', written in 1918 by a composer who died in 1924. His rights-holders would have lost EU rights on the music in 1995. However, the librettist died as recently as 1970, so the Puccini rights-holders now have a significant new revenue stream running until 2040 - thus ending a full 115 years after his death! I just wish my great grandparents had been successful opera composers (preferably using young librettists)!

It especially doesn't make sense how they can suddenly make things go from PD to not-PD. This isn't even like that time in the 90s with the Soviet-era stuff. It's just...well it doesn't make any sense. At all.