From: "Pilch, Janice T" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 03:56:59 +0000
Dear Jim,
Yes, doing the due diligence for works originating in the post-Soviet
nations is interesting and also difficult for a would-be publisher of
public domain works. You can't just assume "life plus 70" when calculating
copyright terms, especially for foreign works- this string clarifies the
point.
I have done a lot of due diligence on Soviet works for Slavic scholars as a
member of the ASEEES Subcommittee on Copyright Issues. Sometimes you can
find the answers and sometimes not. You correctly note that confirming
facts like involvement in WW2 or political rehabilitation are not always
easy or possible to find. There is no national registry of this type of
information. You sometimes have to do traditional research by searching
biographies online and offline to locate information. Sometimes it's worth
the trouble and sometimes not.
Here are two interesting examples of copyright assessment showing the
complexity:
Boris Pasternak. The Nobel Prize-winning Russian author Boris Pasternak
died in 1960. He was politically repressed and was posthumously
rehabilitated in 1987. In the Russian Federation, the special term for
people posthumously rehabilitated is 70 years of copyright protection,
calculated from January 1 of the year following rehabilitation. His novel
"Doctor Zhivago," smuggled out of the Soviet Union and first published in
Italy in Italian translation by G. Feltrinelli in 1957, is protected under
that term in Russia.
However, because the U.S. had copyright relations with Italy in 1957 when
"Doctor Zhivago" was first published, the issue of copyright restoration
for Soviet works in the U.S. does not even come into play. The novel is
protected in the U.S. based on the date of first publication in Italy. The
U.S. Copyright Office has a registration record and a renewal record for
it. The U.S. term for Zhivago is 95 years from first publication, through
2052. His other works that remained in Russia get a different type of
analysis, not involving Italian law.
Mikhail Bulgakov. Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov wrote his novel "The
Master and Margarita" in the years before his death in 1940 and it was
first published in Moscow in the journal Moskva in 1966-67. The Russian
term of protection for works first published posthumously within 70 years
of the author's death is 70 years from publication, calculated from January
1 following year of publication. This means that "The Master and Margarita"
is now protected in Russia through 2037. Because it was protected in Russia
on January 1, 1996, the novel had its copyright restored in the U.S. on
that date and is protected in the U.S. for 95 years from publication,
through 2062.
Some years ago I analyzed the laws of post-Soviet nations and had this
information compiled and it was published in two articles but unfortunately
the laws have changed since then and the information is no longer accurate,
so I hesitate to send citations. The current copyright terms are all stated
in the current laws of the post-Soviet nations, but for the most part you
have to know Russian or another post-Soviet language to read them. And then
you have to know how to apply the copyright restoration provision in
section 104A. An additional factor in copyright assessments for works of
the former Soviet Union is knowing where the work was first published. A
Russian author may have first published a work not in the former
Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (what is now the Russian
Federation) but in, for example, the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
(what is now Moldova)- in which case you'll be using the current Moldovan
law, not the Russian law, to determine copyright restoration.
I have received a couple of requests for more info from this conversation
and will try to compile the information into a brief article very soon.
Lots of fun- it's interesting that this is coming up.
Best wishes,
Janice T. Pilch
Copyright and Licensing Librarian
Rutgers University Libraries
Email: [log in to unmask]
________________________________________
From: "Jim O'Donnell" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 00:08:01 -0400
This string has been fascinating, but could Janice Pilch offer one
more piece of information if she has it? So if in the various
post-Soviet countries, special rules obtain for rehabilitated writers
-- let's say a writer who died in 1937 and was rehabilitated in 1996
-- how would anyone go about finding out those dates? Does the
national copyright office contain an official list of Rehabilitated
Persons with the dates of rehabilitation? This all certainly has the
effect of making a would-be publisher of public domain works jump
through hoops I had never suspected might exist.
Great thanks for all the responses on this,
Jim O'Donnell
On Thu, Sep 25, 2014 at 11:43 PM, LIBLICENSE <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> From: "Pilch, Janice T" <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 22:36:00 +0000
>
> In France, authors who "died for France" obtain 30 extra years of
> copyright protection.
>
> These types of special terms are also found in some countries that
> were formerly part of the Soviet Union. They serve similarly as small
> compensation for patriotic activity or wartime hardship and to right
> the political wrongs of the past, and for other reasons. Some
> examples:
>
> Russian Federation
>
> -The Russian Federation adds 4 years of protection for individuals who
> participated in or worked during WW2.
>
> -It has a special term for authors who were politically repressed and
> posthumously rehabilitated. The 70-year term is calculated from the
> year of rehabilitation.
>
> -The term for works published posthumously within 70 years of the
> author's death is calculated from the date of publication.
>
> Kazakhstan
>
> -The 70-year copyright term for an author who was politically
> repressed and posthumously rehabilitated is calculated from the year
> of rehabilitation.
>
> -The term for works first published posthumously within 30 years of
> the author's death is calculated from the date of publication.
>
> Ukraine
>
> -Has a copyright term for posthumously rehabilitated authors. The
> 70-year term is calculated from the year of rehabilitation.
>
> -The term for works first published posthumously within 30 years of
> the author's death is calculated from the date of publication.
>
> Yes, this does make defining the public domain much more complex.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Janice Pilch
> Copyright and Licensing Librarian
> Rutgers University Libraries
> Email: [log in to unmask]
>
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Kevin Smith <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 13:23:37 +0000
>
> As far as I know, France and Russia both added some time to the term
> of copyright (or, one could say, tolled its running) because of the
> two World Wars. In France, the time periods were very specific,
> things like 6 years and xxx days, to account for the exact time
> periods the nation was at war. But I also believe that France's
> highest court has ruled that those extensions were preempted by later
> legislative developments, so that the term of life plus 70 is now the
> standard. There may yet be special provisions if the specific author
> "died for France" however.
>
> Kevin L. Smith, M.L.S., J.D.
> Director, Copyright and Scholarly Communication
> Duke University Libraries
> Durham, NC 27708
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sandy Thatcher <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 23:13:23 -0500
>
> I had not known before about the extension of copyright for another 15
> years (beyond author's life plus 70) that the French government
> enacted to account for the duration of the two world wars. I wonder if
> any other European governments have followed suit? I'm not sure what
> the logic of this extension is, but in this case it can't be blamed on
> Mickey Mouse!
>
> Sandy Thatcher
>
>
>> From: "Jim O'Donnell" <[log in to unmask]>
>> Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 17:52:39 -0400
>>
>> An entirely noble music radio station, WMNR in Monroe CT, all
>> classical music, all volunteer, a great station to listen to on the
>> internet -- not part of the NPR world for the most part -- brings me
>> this afternoon an announcer telling a digested version of the linked
>> story below -- about the real-world case of what has happened to the
>> royalties of Maurice Ravel since his death in 1937.
>>
>> "Bolero" still makes big bucks, you see, and so it seems that my own
>> contributions to WMNR are even now, as I listen to "Bolero",
>> contributing to those royalties. Decide for yourself the benefit to
>> society that comes from the way this particular money droppeth like
>> the gentle rain from heaven upon today's beneficiaries. A fascinating
>> article...
>>
>> http://www.theguardian.com/education/2001/apr/25/arts.highereducation
>>
>> Jim O'Donnell
>> Georgetown
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