Record Label Logos

[GA Russell]

Am I correct in believing that if a European CD's cover includes the logo of the original record company, that indicates that the CD is an authorized release utilizing the masters?

Here is a Roy Orbison release of his Sun recordings.  The cover seems to include the Sun logo.  So can we conclude that this is an authorized release?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002ZUIHI/

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Seems likely to me. I just checked up on a gospel album I bought recently on an Eastern European label - it's a Peacock recording - and that doesn't carry any logo or mention the name Peacock. Never thought of this angle before.

Logo copyrights must last until the last company that owned the label has finally folded and the logo isn't passed on to any successor firm. That might not be for ever, but will probably be a very long time.

MG

[Big Beat Steve]

17 minutes ago, GA Russell said:

Here is a Roy Orbison release of his Sun recordings.  The cover seems to include the Sun logo.  So can we conclude that this is an authorized release?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002ZUIHI/

Never heard of THAT reissue label, though ...

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

5 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

Never heard of THAT reissue label, though ...

What's that? I can't see a label name anywhere.

MG

[felser]

I wouldn't be so sure of the legitimacy, at least in the case of Sun

Go with the collections on Varese or Rhino.  I'd choose the Varese for later vintage/mastering and many more cuts:

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Sun-Sessions-Roy-Orbison/dp/B00005LNGM/ref=pd_sbs_15_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00005LNGM&pd_rd_r=4620f90b-9da9-11e8-8a22-f3d4eee18e06&pd_rd_w=iB5Wk&pd_rd_wg=hA8Ne&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=8702255303818932494&pf_rd_r=SE5V9T6JVFRCWSFZCC1E&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=SE5V9T6JVFRCWSFZCC1E

[Brad]

Under US law, a name like Sun is a trademark, not a copyright.  To protect a trademark in a particular country, you need to file a trademark registration with the applicable patent and trademark office.  The Sun name, as applied to musical recordings, may be trademarked in the US but that doesn’t mean trademark protection applies to other countries unless there is a trademark registration in that country. 

Without knowing more, it’s hard to answer the question. 

Edited August 12, 2018 by Brad

[Big Beat Steve]

11 hours ago, The Magnificent Goldberg said:

What's that? I can't see a label name anywhere.

MG

If you check the item description further down on that Amazon page you see the label name GENERAL IMPORT. Never heard of ...

 

 

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

28 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

If you check the item description further down on that Amazon page you see the label name GENERAL IMPORT. Never heard of ...

 

 

It's not a label name - it's a description - an unhelpful one.

Oh, I think you knew that and it's a goak, as Artemus Ward used to say.

MG

er... THIS Artemus Ward

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Artemus_Ward

[Big Beat Steve]

Actually I did not know for sure. Public Domain labels often have quite generic names that don't say much, and in most (though not all) cases the actual label name figures exactly there on the Amazon site.. So I'l admit whatever is written there is not totally reliable but your guess is as good as mine. Discogs did not yield anything (though if that record actually dates from 2004 - as the Amazon description  says - it ought to have shown up in secondhand circles by now). But again - whatever it is - I'd not assume it is anything but a Public Domain reissue.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I just checked Amazon UK. I think they've recently changed their policy.on labels - used to put even labels like Savoy and Muse down as Import. Now they don't. Ah well.

MG

[GA Russell]

Guys, I take it that nobody here really knows the answer to my OP question.  Correct?