Copyright issues with Ravel’s Bolero
Copyright issues with Ravel’s Bolero
The Times (21 November 2018) has an interesting report on the copyright issues concerning Ravel’s famous Bolero. See https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/history-has-skated-over-maurice-ravel-s-partner-alexandre-nikolaievitch-benois-claim-heirs-s22l9jdc8
“History has skated over Maurice Ravel’s partner, claim heirs
“Maurice Ravel’s Bolero is one of the world’s most recognisable and popular pieces of classical music and, until recently, one of the most profitable.
“Composed in 1928, it is said to be played every 15 minutes somewhere in the world and provided the soundtrack for the gold medal performance of the British ice skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.
“Until 2016, when it fell out of copyright, it generated tens of millions of euros in royalties for a small group of people who were the distant heirs of the childless French composer. Now they are taking legal action to reclaim its copyright for another 20 years, arguing that Ravel did not write it alone.
“In most countries copyright lasts for 70 years after a creator’s death, although in France it is often nearer 80. Ravel died in 1937, with his heirs having collected up to €100 million before the work fell into the public domain.
“The heirs have only the most tenuous relationship to Ravel, instead inheriting the fortune through ties to a masseuse who married Ravel’s brother, Édouard, who was the sole inheritor of the composer’s estate.
“Evelyne Pen de Castel, a Swiss theatre director who is the daughter of the second husband of the masseuse, is believed to be the main heir. She is also one of the driving forces behind the lawsuit against the Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers (Sacem), which determines copyright issues in France.
“Mrs Pen de Castel and the other claimants say that Ravel did not create Bolero, originally a ballet score, on his own. They argue that Alexandre Nikolaievitch Benois, a Russian ballet set designer who worked with Ravel, also had a hand in the creation of Bolero by shifting its setting from a factory gate to a tavern. If their case is upheld, Benois’s death in 1960 and not Ravel’s in 1937 would determine the copyright duration — taking it up to 2039.
“Ms Pen de Castel is being backed by Benois’s descendants, who have already won court rulings ordering that he be described as the joint creator of other ballets. The lawsuit follows Sacem’s decision to rebuff requests in 2016 and 2017 to extend the copyright.
“Sacem said that it had a duty to ensure that performers could play works like Bolero free when copyright had expired. “There is no question of signing something just to prolong copyright,” it said. “That would be too easy.”
“Edouard Mille, a lawyer for Benois’s heirs, said that Sacem “had no power to refuse their demand” to have the set designer declared joint creator. His clients believed they had irrefutable proof that Benois should be considered joint composer of Bolero, he said. A hearing has been scheduled for next year.”