Depending upon which country you're talking about, everything is under copyright for at least 70 years. (The time of answering is 2011) At this moment, 40's songs should not be under copyright in some countries anymore, although others will vary.
Songs from the 1940s will be protected by copyright if they were published with proper notice and their US copyrights were renewed at 28 years, and in the public domain if they were not. Unfortunately there is no easy way to find out if a song was renewed (you would need to order a search of the paper records at the Library of Congress, which is expensive), so it's often just safest to assume it was.
Recordings from the 1940s are still protected, under state copyright laws of the USA, and will not enter the public domain until February 15, 2067 at the earliest, which is when the federal law pre-empts the state laws. Copyrights for sound recordings in other countries vary.
Most likely, but there are some exceptions. In the US:
1971-1977, published without notice: no
1971-1977, published with notice: yes, for 95 years from publication
1978-March 1989, published without notice and without registration within 5 years: no
1978-March 1989, published without notice but registered within 5 years: yes, for the life of the author plus 70 years
1978-March 1989, published with notice: yes, for the life of the author plus 70 years
March 1989-2002: yes, for the life of the author plus 70 years
Created before 1978 but first published March 1989-2002: yes, for the life of the author plus 70 years OR through December 2047, whichever is longer
After 2002: yes, for the life of the author plus 70 years
Oliver! is still under copyright. If you find freebies, they are illegal.
Yes; it will be protected for the life of the songwriters plus 70 years.
Under current law, 95 years from the date of registration. So the last of them still have about 55 years to go. The Beatles catalog is currently co-owned by Sony Music, and Jackson's estate. (These are the publishing rights to the music, not the Beatles' recordings.)
No.
Franz Liszt's second Hungarian Rhapsody, composed in 1847, is out of copyright.
Oliver! is still under copyright. If you find freebies, they are illegal.
Yes. All aspects of the film are still under copyright.
Yes. Assuming, of course that the music in question is still under copyright protection. There is no legal distinction for what type of performance or whether any money changes hands. You still need to seek permission.
Yep. All of Harlen's songs are under copyright
Under US copyright law, there are no recordings that are public domain; they are either covered under state copyright law prior to 1972, under federal copyright law if published after that, and under federal copyright law if they were never published at all. The only possible public domain records would be some that were published before 1989 and after 1972 without the necessary copyright notice or registration.
No , Gulliver's Travels is now in the public domain, because its copyright was not renewed .
The songs are automatically protected by copyright as soon as they are fixed (written down or recorded), but if you wish to register them with the copyright office, yes, you can register a group of works under one application.
In Europe Finnegan's Wake will cease to be under copyright on 1st Jan 2012. In the U.S., under present copyright law, it will cease to be under copyright on 1st Jan 2035. However, as long as the Disney corporation continues to gain profit from its back-catalog, it is inconceivable that the law won't change before that date.
It would have a copyright. The story and cartoon is new and wouldn't be in the public domain yet.
Yes , all Warner Bros . cartoons are still under copyright protection .
No, you can't as the book is still under copyright and print.
Altering a copyrighted painting to teach a technique is still copyright infringement as that falls under derivative works.