WE want to use the Italian Job theme in a corporate video. We had heard that published music more than 30 years old is copyright free, so would we be safe to use it?

The answer to this query is quite technical, so get that cold towel ready, although I can start by saying I have never heard of a 30 year term. Music can be the subject of a number of different forms of copyright, all with their own peculiarities.

The music (as in the notes recorded on paper) is a work in itself. That copyright lasts for 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the composer dies.

A separate literary copyright exists in lyrics written to accompany music. The first owner of that copyright is the author of those lyrics and that copyright again lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years.

Of course, the words might be older than the music or vice versa. There are also rules on anonymous or unpublished works and some other rare exceptions.

Another complication is that in some musical partnerships the responsibilities are divided conveniently between a composer and a lyricist (Lloyd-Webber and Rice or Stilgoe, for example) but in others there is frequently collaboration on both words and music (eg Lennon & McCartney). In these cases they must be regarded as joint authors and the duration of the copyright will extend to 70 years from the death of the last of them. While you might think you know who the author/composer of a song, is that information can be challenged by someone who has contributed substantially to the song C as was the case recently in respect of Whiter Shade of Pale.

The reverse can also occur, particularly in respect of music released in the Sixties, where the false attribution of songwriting to dishonest managers and agents was rife.

The subsequent recording of a song gives a further copyright in the sound recording, when the author is the producer.

The period during which the recording is protected is simply 50 years from the end of the calendar year that the recording was first released. A further complication is that performance right arises in respect of dramatic and musical performances of music.

ö Matthew Rippon is an intellectual property specialist at Blackett Hart & Pratt LLP Solicitors, Darlington. Contact him on 01325-376524 or at matthewr@b-h-p.com