Whispering Legs
13-04-2005, 14:59
PARIS - "The Internationale," the rousing workers' anthem adopted by communists and socialists from France to China, has turned out to be a pricey tune. French movie director Jean-Christophe Soulageon is being asked to pay $1,283 because the song was whistled without permission in his 2004 film "Insurrection Resurrection," the daily Le Monde reported Friday.
The organization that watches over intellectual and artistic property in France sent a letter to the filmmaker explaining that one of its inspectors heard the whistling at a Paris theater, Le Monde reported.
Soulageon neglected to formally notify officials he had used the song in his film, the newspaper reported. The 19th-century revolutionary hymn was written by Eugene Pottier in 1871 and set to music by another Frenchman, Pierre Degeyter, in 1888.
Under French law, "The Internationale" won't fall into the public domain until 2014 — 70 years of post-mortem protection plus extra time to cover the world war. Degeyter died in 1932.
Degeyter spent years obtaining the musical rights in court but died poor, despite the fact "The Internationale" was — and still is — sung at leftist political rallies around the world.
A final irony: "Insurrection Resurrection" hardly paid its own way, opening briefly in a single Paris theater and selling just 203 tickets, Le Monde reported.
The organization that watches over intellectual and artistic property in France sent a letter to the filmmaker explaining that one of its inspectors heard the whistling at a Paris theater, Le Monde reported.
Soulageon neglected to formally notify officials he had used the song in his film, the newspaper reported. The 19th-century revolutionary hymn was written by Eugene Pottier in 1871 and set to music by another Frenchman, Pierre Degeyter, in 1888.
Under French law, "The Internationale" won't fall into the public domain until 2014 — 70 years of post-mortem protection plus extra time to cover the world war. Degeyter died in 1932.
Degeyter spent years obtaining the musical rights in court but died poor, despite the fact "The Internationale" was — and still is — sung at leftist political rallies around the world.
A final irony: "Insurrection Resurrection" hardly paid its own way, opening briefly in a single Paris theater and selling just 203 tickets, Le Monde reported.