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From: slavins@psy.man.ac.uk (Simon Slavin)
Newsgroups: alt.cd-rom
Subject: Re: Can I use classical music in CDROM?
Message-ID: <15310@m1.cs.man.ac.uk>
Date: 1 May 94 12:12:56 GMT
References: <01HBQQSFN1EA007GIP@LOYOLA.EDU>
Sender: news@cs.man.ac.uk
Reply-To: slavins@psy.man.ac.uk
Organization: Psychology Department, University of Manchester, England, UK
Lines: 21

In article 01HBQQSFN1EA007GIP@LOYOLA.EDU, IPELY@LOYOLA.EDU (Istvan Pely) writes:
>
>        I'm producing a CD-ROM to be published and planned to use some
>classical music for the soundtrack. Is it true that I can just record any
>CD with works by long-dead composers?

Unfortunately not.  If, say, the London Philharmonic record _The Four Seasons_
(as they've been threatening to do), and you use a sample from the finished
CD as background music for your work, then you'd owe money to the London
Phil. and/or the recording company, because you're profiting from their work.

The fact that Verdi's dead and his work is in the public domain is nothing
to do with it.  The London Phil's work isn't in the public domain yet.  You'd
have to find a recording where the performers had been dead for 30 years,
I think.  (Someone check me on this -- I'm unclear on US law !)

Simon.
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