COPYRIGHT : ECJ BACKS SONY'S RIGHTS ON BOB DYLAN SONGS.

Some of Bob Dylan's songs may be old but they are still protected by copyright within the meaning of a 2006 EU law(1). That is the gist of a ruling handed down by the EU Court of Justice, on 20 January, in response to a request for a preliminary ruling by Germany's Constitutional Court.

The German subsidiary of the Japanese group Sony had applied to the German court for an injunction against the German publisher Falcon to prohibit it from selling two CDs, Blowin' in the Wind' and Gates of Eden'. Sony holds rights in the United States on titles contained in these albums and initially released in 1964 and 1965 on the albums Bringing It All Back Home', The Times They Are A-Changin' and Highway 61 Revisited'.

Sony's case was initially dismissed since the adverse party argued that the 1971 international Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms is only valid for works after 1966.

The music firm appealed, citing EU legislation. The ECJ has now ruled...