[pd-discuss] Copyright on unpublished or recently-published works from long-dead authors

Wed Dec 16 11:54:58 UTC 2015

forgot to add the source

http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk/title.php?id=049290

Copyright for Archivists and Records Managers, 5th edition <https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwijzpKGqeDJAhULuBQKHfHFBt0QFggsMAI&url=http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk/title.php?id=049290&usg=AFQjCNGNOeRHgnMZEiJn6pL7phNCrBz6ZQ&sig2=OrZaZawPFqw_Lq-yFflmJg>


> On 16 Dec 2015, at 11:52, Javier Ruiz <javier at openrightsgroup.org> wrote:
> 
> In the case you have outlined, in the UK the copyright would expire 50 years after publication. See attached flowchart.
> 
> Best, Javier
> 
> 
> 
>> On 15 Dec 2015, at 19:47, Adam Green <adam.green at publicdomainreview.org <mailto:adam.green at publicdomainreview.org>> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello,
>> 
>> I have a question regarding copyright on unpublished or recently-published works from long-dead authors, which I was hoping th<flowchart copyright.png>e list might be able to shed some light on.
>> 
>> The scenario involves an author who died in the 17th-century. He put pen to paper and created a poem, but it was never published in his lifetime. In the 1930s the manuscript is discovered in some long-forgotten draw and then published- in the UK, in 1939. And then republished in a few collections since.
>> 
>> I know that public domain laws vary around the world, so I guess I'm thinking about the US and the EU as two main regions it would be interesting to know about.
>> 
>> So far I've gathered that, for unpublished works:
>> - in the US the copyright  is "life of the author + 70 years"
>> - in the UK until 31/12/2039 (which is absolutely ridiculous!).
>> 
>> For the work of my scenario outlined above (first published in 1939), things are less clear. I can't see anything clear in what I've read. Would anyone be able to help out with this? Or point me to some a good source which would tell me?
>> 
>> I was also wondering, in the case of the totally unpublished work, about who actually owns the copyright. Say there is a written manuscript penned in 1650 by a Mr. Joe Bloggs. In the US he'd be out of copyright, but in the UK, not until 2039. If Joe Bloggs has no discernible estate as such then who actually owns the copyright? Would one be able to publish this work (for the first time) without permission? If not, who is one meant to get permission from? Is the library or archive that holds this manuscript in some way involved?
>> 
>> Thanks in advance for any help you can give,
>> All the best,
>> 
>> Adam.
>> 
>> --
>> 
>> Adam Green
>> Editor-in-Chief, The Public Domain Review <http://publicdomainreview.org/>
>> @PublicDomainRev <https://twitter.com/PublicDomainRev>_______________________________________________
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