Friday, March 7, 2008

When did Emil Ascher die?

Can anyone help me with a copyright-related question? I've got some sheet music from 1914 by Emil Escher and I'm trying to determine when it passed (or will pass) into the public domain.

I know it's in the public domain in the United States because the work was published before 1923. But many other countries grant a copyright until the death of the creator, plus 70 years. (Plus 80 years in Spain.) So I need to know when Emil Ascher died.

IMDB lists an Emil Ascher who died on 22 October 1922, but it also says that he joined ASCAP in 1936. One of those dates has got to be wrong.

I also find some references to an Emil Ascher who published music into the late 1940s.

(Bad movie alert: Some of Ascher's stock music was used in Plan 9 from Outer Space.)

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