Around the Music Festival

In a lawsuit over the copyright of French composer Ravel’s masterpiece “Bolero,” the District Court of Nanterre near Paris handed down a ruling on June 29th, dismissing the suit of the successors seeking an extension of the copyright protection period.

Just before the copyright expired in 2015, the successors of rights of Ravel and painter Alexandre Benoît (died 1960) claimed joint copyright to Bolero and requested an extension from the copyright holders’ association, but the association refused, which led to the lawsuit.

“Bolero” was composed and premiered in 1928. Ravel died in 1937, and his copyright expired 78 years after his death after an extension in consideration of World War II. In France, works from 1921 onwards have been copyright-free since May 1, 2016, and works from before that have been copyright-free since September 29, 2022.

However, “Bolero” is performed somewhere in the world once every 15 minutes, and the estimated copyright royalties exceed 1.5 million dollars per year. The lawsuit was filed by the successors of the rights to seek the restoration and extension of the copyright, and if it is accepted, the copyright protection period will be renewed for 70 years from the death of Benoit, extending it to 2039.

According to local reports, the successors argued that “Bolero” was originally a ballet, choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska (died 1972), and set and costumes by Benoist, and that it was a joint production.

However, the court dismissed the successors’ claims, citing that Benoist herself had never mentioned the idea of ​​collaboration, and that the ballet choreography and stage performance by the two have never been performed again since the premiere.

PHOTO：BBC