We do not own the copyrights to any of the shows available on this site. We
believe that the copyrights have expired, or that the shows are in the public
domain because they were never copyrighted. We do not charge for access to our
site. All costs for providing these programs are borne by our members. If you
wish to become a member of OTRR, or would just like to know more about our
organization, please visit us at our homepage.
It is the goal of the Old Time Radio Researchers to provide, free of charge,
any old time radio program to anyone wishing to receive it. We are not trying
to deprive the original creators of any money due to them, and we will remove
any recording from our site that is shown to violate a copyright.
Below is some basic info on the copyrights for Old Time Radio Shows, courtesy
of RadioLovers. We arenot a lawyer, and the information contained in this page
is not meant to be legal advice. It is just intented to give you an overview of
the various copyright issues involved:
The following are some arguements showing Old Time Radio Shows are not covered
by any copyrights posted on various websites:
"We have checked with the Library of Congress regarding the status of old time
radio recordings made prior to 1978, and have been informed by their staff that
all such recordings are generally in the public domain, as sound recordings
were not allowed under the previous copyright law and that such recordings have
not been granted copyright status under the new laws (since to change their
status and move them out of the Public Domain would be a violation of
Ex-Post-Facto). Once a piece is placed into the public domain for any reason,
it remains there legally unless someone brings a case to the Supreme Court to
decide otherwise."
"Library of Congress statements that the original recordings presented here are
within the Public Domain, since they were NOT qualified for copyright
protection when presented, nor was any attempt to place them under such
copyright protection was made when the window of opportunity for such existed
in 1978-1979 when the copyright law regarding such recordings changed. (Such
had to be submitted to the Congressional Record for reinstatement at that time,
and NO US Broadcasts from the 1929 thru 1950 period was filed for at that time
in the Congressional Record - only a few foreign language audio recordings were
so filed for in that period."
Many people feel that the old time radio trademarks are abandonded since they
were never enforced and are virtually worthless:
Any lawsuit for copyright infringement needs to be brought about by the real
parties in interest (the actual copyright holder or assignee), not somebody
else on their behelf. Without a federally registered copyright (which
automatically would carry a presumption of validity), the burden of proof is on
the person bringing the lawsuit to prove that they own a valid copyright for
the work.
Registration Issues: Although failure to register a copyright does not affect
its validity, a copyright must be registered before an infringement action can
be filed under current federal copyright law. Registration must be made within
three months after publication or before the occurrence of an infringement in
order for statutory damages and attorney's fees to be available to the
plaintiff. Otherwise only actual damages may be awarded (17 USC 411, 412).
Radio shows created before January 1, 1978 are protected by the Copyright Act
of 1909 rather than the Copyright Act of 1976 (
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#hlc ) because according to case law
any copyright determinations must be made according the copyright law as it
existed before that date.
Assuming the old time radio shows were in the pbulic domain from from the
Copyright Act of 1909, the update of 1976 could not suddenly place them under
copyright because they were already in the public domain, and the status of a
public domain work is not allowed to ever be reversed.
Steve Dhuey from University of Toledo College of Law wrote in to add the
following thoughts on the topic:
Your page on copyrights seems to address only one type of copyright, federal
statutory copyright. There is indeed good reason to believe that the old time
radio recordings themselves are not under *federal* statutory copyright.
However, there are at least two other major types of copyright: state statutory
copyright, and common law copyright. Neither of those types of copyright are
addressed on that page:
* Under common law copyright, an unpublished work remained under copyright to
its owner/creator in perpetuity.
* State statutory copyright, like federal statutory copyright, usually sets a
limited term on a copyright.
U.S. Copyright Office Circular #56, "Copyright Registration for Sound
Recordings," says:
"Sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, were generally protected by
common law or in some cases by statutes enacted in certain states but were not
protected by federal copyright law. In 1971 Congress amended the copyright code
to provide copyright protection for sound recordings fixed and first published
with the statutory copyright notice on or after February 15, 1972. The 1976
Copyright Act, effective January 1, 1978, provides federal copyright protection
for unpublished and published sound recordings fixed on or after February 15,
1972. Any rights or remedies under state law for sound recordings fixed before
February 15, 1972, are not annulled or limited by the 1976 Copyright Act until
February 15, 2047."
Thus, sound recordings made before Feb. 15, 1972, are not protected by federal
copyright, but they may still be protected by state copyright, or by common law
copyright.
That addresses the issue of the sound recordings themslves. But there is
another issue: the copyright of the scripts used on old time radio shows. These
scripts were almost all written as works for hire, with the copyrights
belonging to the network or the sponsor. The copyrights of these scripts are
separate from the copyright of the sound recordings; one can be in the public
domain while the other is still under copyright.
Almost all radio scripts would be legally considered unpublished works
(broadcast or performance does not constitute publication), because very few
old time radio broadcasts have been published by the copyright owners. If the
scripts were unpublished, and not registered for copyright as unpublished
works, they were under common law copyright, i.e., in perpetuity. The Copyright
Act of 1976, effective 1978, changed that. It abolished common law copyright in
the U.S. (except for sound recordings) and said that all unpublished,
unregistered works existing as of Jan. 1, 1978, had a federal statutory
copyright, lasting 120 years from the date of creation.
Thus, even though the *recordings* of the old time radio broadcasts are not
under federal statutory copyright, the *scripts* underlying most of those
broadcasts are under federal statutory copyright for 120 years from creation.
There is a third layer of copyright involved, if the script is based on another
literary work, for example, a short story, play, or motion picture screenplay.
Even if the sound recording had no copyright, and the radio script had no
copyright, the copyright of the underlying literary property may be in effect
and enforceable.
In summary, the copyright situation is more complex than the simple question of
whether the old time radio recordings are under federal statutory copyright.
There are also issues of common law copyright and state statutory copyright,
and the underlying literary copyrights of the scripts.