令埃尼奥和他的继承人幸运的是，欧盟委员会已经改变了规则：对1962年之后的唱片，保护期限被提高为70年。《荒野大镖客》目前的保护期限将直到2034年。一点闲谈，这项转变是缘于披头士乐队的遗产：这样的（保护）目录怎么可能落入这些街头闲人的手中呢？无论如何，这项决定将会保护不单是披头士乐队的原创音乐，也不单是莫里康内的音乐，同时也包括那些从六十年代起就参与唱片的所有音乐家和表演者，他们当中的许多人依然健在，而且其生活多亏有这些旧时功课的分红。回顾老的法规是有意义的，当时的背景不同。也就是说，那时的人们并不是生活在今天的环境之中。

然而这项措施并没有受到所有人的欢迎，因为他们有很充分的理由认为著作权的保护期不宜过长：这样会迫使唱片公司专注于新的音乐，因为他们再也不能用既有的音乐赚钱了。从长期存在的热门音乐中赚钱确实不能鼓励大公司对崭露头角的年轻艺术家进行投资.

原文注

1：这些费用令人望而却步，就像法国嘻哈乐队IAM见证的那样（参见上面新闻部分），有时甚至会导致这样的翻唱计划被完全废弃。

译者注

1、英语"Public Domain"在中国大陆的正式译名是"公有领域"。"公有领域"指权利不为个人专有，而由社会成员自由利用的法律状态。包括两层含义：（1）公有领域是相对于权利人专有权所控制的领域而言的，处于公有领域中的权利部分不受权利人的支配，社会成员得自由地、无偿地使用；（2）公有领域是相对于法律规定的特定的使用方式而言的，即在公有领域之中的权利，作者依法享有的专有使用方式失去了作用力。至于那些非法律明文赋予权利人的使用方式，则他人本来就可以采用而不受干涉。公有领域是人类的一部分作品与一部分知识的总汇，可以包括文章、艺术品、音乐、科学、发明等等。对于公有领域内的知识财产，任何个人或团体都不具所有权益（所有权益通常由版权或专利体现）。这些知识发明属于公有文化遗产，任何人可以不受限制地使用和加工它们（此处不考虑有关安全、出口等的法律）。创立版权制度的初衷是借由给予创作者一段时期的专有权利作为（经济）刺激以鼓励作者从事创作。当专有权利期间截止，作品便进入公有领域。公有领域的作品由于没有专属权利人，因此公众有权自由使用它们。对于具有创作性的作品，如果没有现行法律确立其具有财产权地位，或者现行法律将某类作品的保护摒除在外时，这些作品即可认为处于公有领域内。

2、著作权保护期限是指著作权受法律保护的时间界限。在著作权的保护期限内，作品受著作权法保护；著作权期限届满，著作权丧失，作品进入公有领域。这也是著作权作为知识产权具有时间性这一法律特征的体现。根据欧洲议会和理事会2011年9月27日修订的《协调著作权和某些邻接权保护期的指令》（2006/116/EC），欧盟现行的著作权保护期限为作者有生之年及其死后70年，对表演者、音像制作者、电影制作者和广播机构给予50年保护期（从作品首次公开发行算起），对摄影作品给予作者死后70年的保护期。

3、《荒野大镖客》是一部由意大利、西德、西班牙三国合拍，塞尔乔 莱昂内和蒙特 赫尔曼执导、埃尼奥 莫里康内配乐的意大利式西部片，它源于黑泽明导演的电影《用心棒》（1961）。其最早于1964年9月12日在意大利的佛罗伦萨上映/发行，至2014年已有50年的时间。

4、《法西斯分子》（1961），《百万女孩》（1962）和《欲海惊心杀人夜》（1962）都是由埃尼奥 莫里康内配乐的电影。

2014 could have been the year where Per un pugno di dollari had become public domain. However, it will not be the case.Different copyright rules apply to composers and to performers.Composer's rights are protected during the composer's whole life, plus 70 years, before they fall into the public domain. This means that nobody is allowed to re-record or cover a piece of a given composer without his or her consent until that period is over.

Once the piece is in the public domain, it can be played and recorded by anyone without anybody's consent. For example, Morricone's music for Per un pugno di dollari (1964) cannot be played by anyone without the Maestro's consent until at least 2084, and counting. The consent in question often comes at a cost1, and will actually not have to come from the composer himself, but from the owners of the work. In film music, and Morricone’s
is not exception, the rights typically belong to the music editor. This secures an income to the composer regardless of the success of the movie, but afterwards the music doesn’t belong to him anymore, and can be exploited by the record company which owns it.

Luckily for Ennio and his heirs, the European Commission has changed the rules: for the pieces recorded after 1962, the protection is raised up to 70 years. Per un pugno di dollari is now protected until 2034. It is gossiped that the change was due to the legacy of the Beatles: how could such a catalogue fall into the hands of the man on the street? Whatever the case, this decision will protect not only the Beatles original music, not only Morricone's, but also all the musicians and performers who have participated in recordings as from the Sixties, many of whom are still alive and often live only thanks to the dividends perceived from these old assignments. It always makes sense to review old legislation which was made in times where the context was different, e.g. when people didn't live as long as they do today.

This measure was not welcomed by everybody however, because there was a very good reason for the protection period to not be too long: it obliged the record companies to focus on new music, as they could no longer make money on old one. Making profit from long-standing hits indeed doesn’t
encourage the Majors to invest on up and coming young artists.