Dwight,

Determining public domain is tricky. It all depends when the song was written/published. Since the copyright law was changed a few times, there were opportunities along the way to renew one's copyright for an additional term.

For any song written after 1978, the copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. After that, it's in the public domain. This does not apply to the sound recording, however, which has a different copyright. The record companies are going after you b/c of your violation of their copyright in the sound recording.

It can be difficult to prove that certain songs are in the public domain. Some tunes are clearly traditional even though no specific date can be attributed to it (e.g. "J'ai Passe' Devant ta Porte"). It can also be difficult to pin down when a song was first published.

There are many misconceptions about what constitutes public domain. I once did work on a film and did research on the song, "This Little Light of Mine". It was assumed to have been a traditional spiritual. In reality, it was written by a minister in Oklahoma, Harry Dixon Loes, who subsequently let his copyright interest expire. It was in the public domain, but not for the reasons that most people assumed.

In answer to another person's question, the connection between "profit" from an unauthorized use and illegailty had been continuously eroded, due specifically to new laws concerning internet piracy. One need no longer prove financial motive in the instance of criminal infringement. Thus an unauthorized use of someone else's intellectual property (e.g. copyright) -- regardless of profit motive -- is a violation of the Copyright Act, and therefore, illegal.

The whole debate over burning CD's is nothing new. The recording companies went bonkers over blank cassettes and recording equipment, fearing that they would lose all their revenue. In the end, an extra "tax" was levied on blank cassettes to "compensate" them for any copying. The same holds true for blank CD's today.

I wouldn't necessarily feel bad about copying a Cajun CD to give to my band members to study. I would, however, encourage them to purchase the CD. I look at it this way -- I've accepted burned CD's from friends before, but I make a conscious effort to support artists by buying CD's/mp3's and going to concerts whenever possible. I don't use mass file sharing programs.

The record companies really can't ask for more.

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