All this may be true - but - most of the companies that these prints were originally from are - also - long gone. We're dealing with antique musical machines. All these companies had there "hey days" from the 20's and 30's However, I will check. Thank you, Duaine rob at mccallpiano.com wrote: > Duaine, > > Be very careful here... > > Just because a book is out of print doesn't mean the copyright isn't > in force. Any book first published in 1978 or later has a copyright > for the life of the author PLUS 70 years, whether it's in print or > not. So even if the author died the date it was published in 1978, and > the publisher stopped printing it immediately, the copyright would > still be good to at least 2048. > > Any book from the 30's on back could still have an effective > copyright. Originally, they were good for 28 years, I believe, > however they were renewable. Given the various laws that passed along > the way, these older copyrights could still be in force for up to 95 > years. So anything written prior to 1914 you're more than likely > safe. Any books first published from 1915 to 1978 could very well > still have an active copyright that you could be infringing. > > If in doubt, check with the publisher of the book if they are still in > business. Most publishers have catalogs of copyrights that they > either own or administer. > > Sometimes, even though the copyright is active, the publisher will let > you print and sell items upon payment of a licensing fee. These are > usually a whole lot cheaper than being taken to court. :-) > > Regards, > > Rob McCall > Murrieta, CA
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC