Report on Federal Copyright Protection for Pre-1972 Sound Recordings (USA)

The United States Copyright Office has recommended that pre-1972 sound recordings should be protected by federal copyright law in its Report on Federal Copyright Protection for Pre-1972 Sound Recordings. Currently, these older sound recordings are protected by state laws under which copyright exceptions such as library and archival preservation and fair use are uncertain. This uncertainty leads to caution on the part of music librarians and archivists to actively preserve sound recordings - some in fragile or obsolete formats and extremely rare