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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.

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12y ago
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13y ago

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

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Q: Are songs from the 1940's still under copyright?
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