IANAL, etc. but I believe this isn't exactly as cut and dried as you make it out to be, or at least wasn't as cut and dried when the King estate took it to court. The legal analysis section on Wikipedia^ describes the difference between "general" and "limited" publication, and that if it was a general publication the estate would not have a copyright claim.
Can anyone with more knowledge of copyright law explain this? Are televised speeches usually public domain?
[IANAL either] My understanding is that the difference between general and limited publication was important under the Copyright Act of 1909, and that to a great extent it required registration of works in order for the work to enjoy protection. The Copyright Act of 1976, changed the requirements for protection and essentially works are automatically protected when they are published.
Can anyone with more knowledge of copyright law explain this? Are televised speeches usually public domain?
^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_of_Martin_Luther_King,_J...