Copyright Sleuth

Many content creators are unaware that the public domain is packed with lapsed copyrights for works written by Bob Dylan, Quincy Jones, Chuck Berry, Leonard Bernstein,  Johnny Cash, Henry Mancini,  Woody Guthrie, The Beach Boys, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, B. B. King and this list goes on. It also includes many songs that entered the Billboard charts— with some even reaching the status of iconic.

Whether the genre is jazz, country, rhythm and blues, folk, pop, Christmas, mambo, classical, Hawaiian, or gospel... it's all there waiting to be exploited.

 In the section The U.S. Public Domain it is discussed in depth how these more recent works passed into the public domain, but the short answer is that it happened because the composer (or publisher) failed to comply with a mandatory copyright renewal requirement. A significant amount of musical compositions entered the public domain this way.

These songs have lain dormant in the public domain because it was simply too expensive and too time-consuming to conduct the research needed to cull out these lapsed copyrights. This recently changed when we developed our own database of copyrights. Suddenly, using its power, it is now possible to find the proverbial needle in a haystack in a matter of seconds. The database can complete hundreds of searches in the time it would take to preform one search using card-catalogue system at the United States Copyright Office. And what's more, it allows for searches that are simply not possible using the card-catalogue system. In fact, we have already identified over 10,000 lapsed copyrights for musical compositions and we have only begun to scratch the surface.

The goal is to partner with an AI company or media group for which Copyright Sleuth will provide an almost endless supply of rights-free music for their new developments and products. Keep in mind that a new, fully-enforceable copyright, as a derivative work, will be created on any new arrangement or changes made to the original work. These compositions have the potential to provide a distinct advantage over other competitors in the field.

• Artificial Intelligence Platforms

•  Series

Consider the recent HBO series White Lotus (which contains a fair amount of Hawaiian-tinged music), or a show like Mad Men which necessitated tunes from the 1950's and 1960's, or the lively mambo type songs that were peppered throughout the series Sex and the City.

• Films

There are countless films (both past and present) that could have used this material. Just to point out a few, one can easily imagine how some well-crafted country songs could have been used in the 2010 Oscar winning film Crazy Heart, or the 2013 Cohen Brother's film Inside Llewyn Davis which required many folk songs, or how almost any Quentin Tarantino film could have benefited from the public domain.

• Late Night Shows

There is an almost limitless amount of jazz, mambo and pop music that could be used in these nightly shows. It's important to also note that, since these musical compositions are no longer under copyright, they can be broadcast on television without asking permission from the publisher.

• Advertising

For an example of how this music can be intertwined with advertising, one needs look no further than Gucci's 2023 Guilty Campaign. The ad uses a relatively obscure (and still under copyright) 1955 doo wop song titled Life Is But A Dream by the Harptones to set the mood for their ad campaign. Similar tunes can easily be found in Copyright Sleuth's database within seconds.