Expert: Shannon Moore - 6/14/2009

Question
I am currently working on a DVD project for an upcoming reunion of the 196th Infantry veterans of Vietnam, and was considering using a piece of music that goes together very well with the photos and graphics assembled so far. My question concerns copyright infringement, since the musical piece I'm considering is one from a number that was included for a movie soundtrack produced in 1992. I have heard that once a period of 12 years expire, music as such become 'public domain'. Is there any truth to this, or do I need special permission from either the movie production company, ASCAP, etc.? Thanks for any advice and/or referrals.

Answer
Dear Bob,

I'd recommend finding out when the song was created if it in fact appeared somewhere besides the soundtrack. Here's the copyright rule:

"The term of copyright for a particular work depends on several factors, including whether it has been published, and, if so, the date of first publication. As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years...For works first published prior to 1978, the term will vary depending on several factors. To determine the length of copyright protection for a particular work, consult chapter 3 of the Copyright Act (title 17 of the United States Code)."

Link to Chapter 3: http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap3.html

To obtain permission, you'd need to ask the owner. To conduct a search of the copyright records go here: http://www.copyright.gov/records/

Hope this helps! Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance. Thank you!

Warmest regards,
Shannon Moore
http://www.tmexpress.com
http://tmexpress.blogspot.com