From: "Pilch, Janice T" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 02:27:25 +0000

Getting to messages in reverse- Sandy, this is no longer true.

The 1973 dividing line that previously separated Soviet works that were in
the public domain in the U.S. and copyright-protected in the U.S., based on
UCC membership, is no longer in effect. On January 1, 1996 copyright
restoration went into effect in the U.S. under the Uruguay Round Agreements
Act that required the U.S. to restore copyright to foreign works previously
in the public domain in the U.S. due to lack of national eligibility, and
for other reasons, in compliance with Article 18 of the Berne Convention.
Beginning on that date, vast numbers of Soviet works previously in the
public domain in the U.S. gained copyright protection in the U.S. for the
full U.S. term.

It has been difficult for many scholars of Slavic studies to realize this
and some publishers are still unaware, but it's absolutely the case. Due
diligence involves determining whether the work was protected in the
country of origin on the date that copyright restoration went into effect
for that country- and thus the copyright laws of the post-Soviet nations
comes into play.

I have written extensively on this topic but will point you to the most
recent article which has references to earlier articles- you can find this
in JSTOR among other sources:

Janice T. Pilch, "U.S. Copyright Relations with Central, East European, and
Eurasian Nations in Historical Perspective," Slavic Review, Vol. 65, No. 2
(Summer 2006), pp. 325-348.

This news typically comes as a shock to people but it 's a situation that
has existed for 18 years.

Best,

Janice T. Pilch
Copyright and Licensing Librarian
Rutgers University Libraries
Email: [log in to unmask]

________________________________________
From: Sandy Thatcher <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 19:08:34 -0500

The USSR didn't join the Universal Copyright Convention until May
1973, so everything Russian from prior to that date can be treated
under our law as being in the public domain.

Sandy Thatcher


> 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]