well who does?hes not alive back then there were no record companys i dont think he has any family that should be allowed to have them so who does and how did they get the rights

Me.

no stupid ass awnsers please

would that be why my post was deleted?..

There are no copyrights, it's freely available.

as far as i'm aware uk copyright law states a peice can only be copyrighted for 50 or 70 years(can't remember which) thereafter it's up for grabs.

thats why places like Project Gutenberg can have previously copyrighted works freely available for the download, even though thats just litriture.

however if ur sampleing u have to remember its whoever performed the peice that then has the copyright on that particular version.

yes the music is not copyrighted but a particular rendition may be protected from free distribution by copy right laws. say the NY symphony records bethovens 5th. that cd is copy righted but the music is not. you cannot freely redistribute thier rendition but you can play it yourself and make money off of it without royalty.

I think most copyright laws, including the music ones, expire after 75 years, meaning that in about 25 years, you will legaly be allowed to copy and sell Elvis albums.

Beethoven's music is as free as Happy Birthday or Star Spangled Banner- much to those music manager's charign.
They'd love to get any penny they could out of a deaf dead man's music.
So they still retain copyrights on compilations or reproductions.
I suppose the copyright law creator didn't think a band could still be enjoyed 75 years after its creation.

^restaurants have to pay royalties when they sing the traditional "Happy Birthday" that's why many places make up their own. Music played in restaurants is also subject to royalties.