Just before anyone jumps in, I know all about the BBC angle re the Kennedy story, and that's a different issue altogether.

In terms of copyright the situation was and remains clear.

Those songs were and still are in public ownership.

In fact I myself have registered a number of arrangements of songs and tunes that Kennedy collected (all from the Channel Islands, like me), as anyone may.

I repeat: the arrangement royalty only goes to the arranger, for that specific and very narrowly defined arrangement (usally only for actual perfromances BY the arranger him or herself).

Anyone else can do their own versions, and they'll get all the loot for that particular version.

It's not theft. It's just what make the whole wide world go round.

Tom again