[pd-discuss] PD help

Tue Mar 8 21:20:40 UTC 2011

Elizabeth, your comment makes me wonder...  Imagine that we wanted to know with certainty that a non-posthumously published work is in the public domain everywhere in the world.  What is the date before which everything must be in the public domain?

I am guessing that it might be authors who died before 1911.  That would account for Côte d'Ivoire's life + 99 year term, and it would also ensure that items that received a 99 year term from publication would also have expired copyrights (since I am limiting my question to non-posthumous works).  Is there anything earlier?

Can we say with certainty that a non-posthumously published work authored by someone who died prior to 1911 is in the public domain everywhere in the world?

Peter Hirtle

From: pd-discuss-bounces at lists.okfn.org [mailto:pd-discuss-bounces at lists.okfn.org] On Behalf Of Elizabeth Townsend-Gard
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 3:54 PM
To: Public Domain discuss list
Subject: Re: [pd-discuss] PD help

What jurisidictions are you interested?
On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 2:06 PM, Guibault, L. <L.Guibault at uva.nl<mailto:L.Guibault at uva.nl>> wrote:
The composer is Ralph Vaughan Williams (born Down Ampney, Gloucestershire<http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloucestershire>, 12 oktober<http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_oktober> 1872<http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/1872> - died Londen<http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Londen>, 26 augustus<http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/26_augustus> 1958<http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958>)

On the basis of UK law, the duration of copyright in a work is calculated on the basis of the life of the author + 70 years from his death. See article 12 Copyright Patent Design Act 1988: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/section/12

12 Duration of copyright in literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works.

(1)The following provisions have effect with respect to the duration of copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work.

(2)Copyright expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies, subject as follows.

(3)If the work is of unknown authorship, copyright expires-

(a)at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made, or

(b)if during that period the work is made available to the public, at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is first so made available,

subject as follows.

(4)Subsection (2) applies if the identity of the author becomes known before the end of the period specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (3).

(5)For the purposes of subsection (3) making available to the public includes-

(a)in the case of a literary, dramatic or musical work-

(i)performance in public, or

(ii)communication to the public;]

(b)in the case of an artistic work-

(i)exhibition in public,

(ii)a film including the work being shown in public, or

(iii)communication to the public;]

but in determining generally for the purposes of that subsection whether a work has been made available to the public no account shall be taken of any unauthorised act.

Since the identity of the author is known, the general rule applies. The publisher is therefore entitled to claim copyright protection on the work.

Best regards,

Lucie Guibault

________________________________________________

Lucie Guibault
Instituut voor Informatierecht
Universiteit van Amsterdam

Bezoekadres:
Korte Spinhuissteeg  3, Kamer B2.17, Amsterdam
Postadres:
Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX Amsterdam, Nederland

Tel: +31.20.525.3947
Fax: +31.20.525.3033
Email: L.Guibault at uva.nl<mailto:L.Guibault at uva.nl>
Website: www.ivir.nl<http://www.ivir.nl>

Please note that I am not in the office on Mondays
________________________________________________
________________________________
From: pd-discuss-bounces at lists.okfn.org<mailto:pd-discuss-bounces at lists.okfn.org> [mailto:pd-discuss-bounces at lists.okfn.org<mailto:pd-discuss-bounces at lists.okfn.org>] On Behalf Of Aaron Dunn
Sent: dinsdag 8 maart 2011 20:56
To: pd-discuss at lists.okfn.org<mailto:pd-discuss at lists.okfn.org>
Subject: [pd-discuss] PD help

Musopen.org is about to launch a recording project to record and release a substantial set of music into the public domain. One of the pieces we are interested in is Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams. I was wondering if anyone can help us definitively answer whether this piece is in the public domain or not.

It seems it was composed in 1914, and published in 1925, so I would think that at that time copyrights were for the life of the piece not the composer, which should now have passed, yet Oxford publishing is claiming a copyright on the work. Anyone know why it would still be copywritten?

Sincerely,
Aaron

_______________________________________________
pd-discuss mailing list
pd-discuss at lists.okfn.org<mailto:pd-discuss at lists.okfn.org>
http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/pd-discuss

--

Elizabeth Townsend Gard
Associate Professor,
Co-Director, Tulane Center for Intellectual Property Law and Culture, and
Director, The Durationator(r) Software/Usable Past Project
Tulane Law School
Weinmann Hall
6329 Freret Street
New Orleans, LA 70118-6231
townsend at tulane.edu<mailto:townsend at tulane.edu>
etownsendgard at gmail.com<mailto:etownsendgard at gmail.com>
skype name:  elizabethtownsendgard
www.durationator.com<http://www.durationator.com>
(504) 862 - 8822
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/pd-discuss/attachments/20110308/30d4cc7d/attachment.html>