WORK IN PROGRESS. THIS PAGE WILL CONTAIN FACTUAL ERRORS. I AM NOT A LAWYER. THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE.
Please add questions, possible answers, links, reccomendations. I will keep editing this and will be seeking legal advice on questions that we cannot answer with any confidence ourselves - Rob.
The UK Public Domain
Introduction
As soon as a work of art, literature, music or design is created, its creator gains copyright on it. This copyright lasts for decades, but it will eventually expire. Once the copyright expires, the work is considered to be in the public domain and is no longer protected by copyright. Public domain works can be freely copied and used without any of the restrictions that apply to copyrighted works.
We refer to work that is in the Public Domain as Public Domain work, or just "PD" for short.
This document is specifically aimed at copyright for musical recordings. Other kinds of work may have different restrictions, for example copyright on typographic arrangements only lasts for twenty years.
Kinds Of Copyrights On Music
Any musical recording will have at least two copyrights.
The score for the song, that is the music and lyrics in their written form, will have one copyright. Often this will be a "joint" copyright, shared between more than one person. So all those Beatles songs by Lennon/McCartney would have joint copyright if they weren't owned by a company, Northern Songs.
The score copyright is usually marked (C) .
The sound recording, that is the scratch on the record or the dots on the CD, will have another copyright. This is usually owned by the company that has pressed the record or CD, but may be owned by the recording artist and licensed.
The recording copyright is usually marked (P).
The Duration of Copyright
Copyright in the score currently lasts for seventy years after the death of the copyright holder (the author or musician). Or for XXXXX years for copyrights owned by corporations. In the case of joint copyrights
Copyright in the sound recording currently lasts for fifty years from the date the recording was made. This is regardless of whether the recording copyright is held by an individual or a company. In other countries the recording copyright lasts longer, often seventy years.
Gotchas
Gotchas are unexpected problems. For copyright, these usually revolve around derivative works. A derivative work is a new work based on an older work, which gains a new copyright.
Remastering
Remastering a recording will gain a new copyright.
Digitisation
Does uncompressed digitisation gain a new copyright? What about digital recordings compressed or encoded with a codec such as MP3?
Compilations
Public Domain image vendors in the US often claim copyright on Collective Works, compilations of Public Domain works that they claim constitute original works. Are these claims valid in the UK? Can UK publishers make this kind of claim?
Arrangements
If a traditional song is given a new arrangament, this is presumably a derivative work. Is it? How different does a work have to be to be an original arrangement?
International Public Domain Works
If it's PD in the US/Germany/Wherever, is it PD here? How about if it's PD here but I can only get a US/German/Wherever version?
Others
Others?
Dedicating Work To The Public Domain
Some American projects declare new work to be in the public domain, before its copyright would normally expire. Is this valid in the UK?
Moral Rights Interaction
If I waive my copyright (dedicate a work to the public domain), how does this affect my moral rights? Are moral rights based on copyright, or are they separate? If they are separate it would mean that there could be works that have no copyright but that the author can assert moral rights over.
CC Dedication Form
Creative Commons provide an online form to help dedicate work to the Public Domain. Is such work considered Public Domain in the UK? Is it valid for UK citizens to use this form? How does this form affect moral rights?
US Government Work
US government work is public domain in the US. Is it public domain in the UK?
US & Others Dedicated Work
e.g Open Clip Art Library . This is a relative of the CC dedication question (particularly as most projects use the CC dedication now).
Other Rights
Moral rights on the score once the recording is PD?
Performing, broadcast, mechanical reproduction, recording rights once the recording is PD? Get definitive list of rights & definitive answers on how PD affects them. e.g. BBC royalties are different from broadcast royalties IIRC.
Remixing & deriving from a PD recording whilst the score is still in copyright?
More to come as I sort my notebook - Rob.