''Capitol Records, Inc. v. Naxos of America, Inc.'', 4 N.Y.3d 540 (2005), is one of "the most notable case concerning the copyright status of US-published sound recordings issued before February 15, 1972 (frequently called "pre-1972 sound recordings"). In this case, the New York Court of Appeals held that pre-1972 sound recordings, which are not given copyright under U.S. federal law, may be covered under state common law copyright.

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

restored and issued on CD a number of mid-20th century sound recordings, including several classical music performances by

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals,

Edwin Fischer Edwin Fischer (6 October 1886 – 24 January 1960) was a Swiss classical pianist and conductor. He is regarded as one of the great interpreters of J.S. Bach and Mozart in the twentieth century. Biography Fischer was born in Basel and studied ...

, and

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

. Capitol Records, which held the U.S. licenses for those works, also remastered and reissued on CD the same recordings.Neil J. Rosini, Michael I. Rudell
"Pre-1972 Sound Recordings -- A Legal Breed Apart"
, FWRV, Oct. 28, 2013. Capitol sued Naxos in the Southern District of New York, which held that because the items were in the public domain in their country of origin (the United Kingdom), they were also in the public domain in the US. On appeal, the Second Circuit held that while federal copyright protection was not available, the state of New York may or may not have common law copyright. The Second Circuit certified the question to the state of New York, which considered several questions, including the question of whether a state's common law copyright protection might survive the expiration of a work's copyright in its country of origin. The

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

held that, because Congress had not preempted common law copyright for pre-1972 sound recordings, that common law copyright was available. Because common law copyright was not bound by federal and international rules regarding expiration into the public domain, Capitol's claim survived. The case was hailed in some quarters, and critiqued in others, but most commentators acknowledged that it was a "landmark", and "groundbreaking" decision, carrying significance for both music preservation and commercialization of recordings before 1972. On December 20, 2016, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that this common-law right includes only the exclusive right to duplication and publication, and not to public performance. That case, ''

Flo & Eddie Flo & Eddie is a comedy rock duo consisting of Mark Volman (Flo, short for Phlorescent Leech) and Howard Kaylan (Eddie). The two were the original founding members of the Top 40 mid-to late 1960s rock and pop group The Turtles. After the Turtl ...

v. Sirius XM Radio'', ruled that no such common law right to public performance existed in New York.

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External links

* {{caselaw source , case = ''Capitol Records, Inc. v. Naxos of America, Inc.'', 4 N.Y.3d 540 (2005) , courtlistener =https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2058866/capitol-records-v-naxos/ , googlescholar = https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13449269397843246571 , leagle =https://www.leagle.com/decision/20055444ny3d5401493 , other_source1 = New York Courts , other_url1 =http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2005/2005_02570.htm 2005 in United States case law United States copyright case law New York (state) state case law Capitol Records litigation 2005 in New York (state)

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