New Delhi, March 30 -- Several iconic Hindi film songs released in the 1950s and 60s, many of which remain deeply embedded in popular culture, are now completing their statutory copyright term and entering the public domain, if they haven't already.

Under Section 27 of the Copyright Act, 1957, copyright in a sound recording lasts 60 years from the beginning of the calendar year following its first publication. Once that period ends, the recording enters the public domain, meaning no licence is required for use of the sound recording itself.

In effect, sound recordings released in the late 1950s and early 1960s have either crossed, or are now crossing, this threshold.

Licence-free classics

According to industry experts, the transition ...