Elvis Album At The Center Of U.K. Copyright Row:

In one of the clearest signs to-date of Sony BMG’s tough policy of enforcing the copyright of its vintage Presley works — even though some sound recordings have become part of the public domain — the music major put pressure on Cargo to withdraw the release, “New York: RCA Studio 1: The Complete Sessions.” Sony BMG disputed that a handful of outtakes on the album, which was released by Memphis Recording Service, were public domain.

Songs originally recorded in 1956 entered the public domain on January 1, 2007, since the copyright term for sound recordings in the UK is 50 years (in the US, it’s the life of the author plus 70 years). Looks like the album in question has been pushed back to February 25, 2008. We’ll see…

Previously: UK Copyright Not Extended.