[Tango-L] The Australian context for copyright in Original Tango Music

[Myk Dowling]

On 18/02/11 23:16, Vince Bagusauskas wrote:
> The following is a response from the Licensing Department, PHONOGRAPHIC
> PERFORMANCE COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA (PPCA), to a series of questions I posed to
> them:
>
>
> "On 1 January 2005, the duration of copyright increased.  The increase
> applies to all works and sound recordings which were in copyright on that
> date and those created after that date.
>
> With regard to musical works (the written music and lyrics), copyright
> subsists until the expiration of 70 years from the end of the calendar year
> in which the author/composer of the work died. In relation to protected
> sound recordings, copyright subsists until the expiration of 70 years after
> the end of the calendar year in which the recording is first published.
>
> This means that, while you may be playing classical music recordings, you
> may still be required to hold a licence for the public performance of the
> protected sound recording itself (which can be obtained from PPCA) if the
> recorded version of the classical music is not more than 70 years old.
>
> In other words, while you may be playing a Beethoven composition (in which
> copyright has expired), the CD/cassette you are playing may be, for example,
> by the Australian Symphony Orchestra, recorded in 1998. As the particular
> recording by the orchestra is only 11 years old, copyright exists in the
> protected sound recording and a licence to publicly perform it is required.
>
> With regard to your query, regarding playing recorded music from Argentina,
> I confirm we have an agreement with Argentina and a licence with PPCA would
> still be required."
>
> So there you go.
On the other hand, PPCA "represents the interests of Australian 
recording artists and record companies". They are biased in favour of 
stronger copyright protection and a more restrictive interpretation of 
copyright law. As such, it may be worth consulting an unbiased lawyer to 
see if a different interpretation of the legislation is possible.

And if the copyright of an Argentine work has expired in Argentina, it's 
effectively expired in Australia, too. If no one in Argentina holds a 
copyright any more, who are PPCA going to give the money to?

If you're playing contemporary work  (anything published after 1954 in 
Australia, for example), paying licence fees is probably required, though.

Myk,
in Canberra