Mobileread Library - > change in copyright

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by Billi

All this huge amount of work involved.

Of course, they will not be completely removed, only they will not be accessible... they'll be back online when they're copyright-free in life+70 countries (which means less than 20 years)

[doubleshuffle]

So there won't be any exceptions for extended U.S. copyright on authors who died more than 70 years ago? I'm planning to do a bit of Yeats here, for instance, whose works are in the public domain in life+70 countries, while a large number of them is still under copyright in the U.S. So will Yeats be ok?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

So there won't be any exceptions for extended U.S. copyright on authors who died more than 70 years ago? I'm planning to do a bit of Yeats here, for instance, whose works are in the public domain in life+70 countries, while a large number of them is still under copyright in the U.S. So will Yeats be ok?

I don't know how to say this any more clearly: the library is being made strictly "life+70". So yes, if an author is in the life+70 public domain, he is OK to upload.

If you are in the US, and a work is protected by US copyright, then you would be breaking US copyright law by uploading it, but that's your problem, not ours.

[Billi]

I understand it for authors like Chandler, Hammett or Hemingway, who are now PD in life+50 countries but not in their home one, but why apply this to Canadian or Australian authors who only enjoy the life+50 protection???

[doubleshuffle]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I don't know how to say this any more clearly: the library is being made strictly "life+70". So yes, if an author is in the life+70 public domain, he is OK to upload.

If you are in the US, and a work is protected by US copyright, then you would be breaking US copyright law by uploading it, but that's your problem, not ours.

Thanks, Harry. Just wanted to be on the safe side.

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by Billi

I understand it for authors like Chandler, Hammett or Hemingway, who are now PD in life+50 countries but not in their home one, but why apply this to Canadian or Australian authors who only enjoy the life+50 protection???

Because the copyright applies not to the authors, but to the works, and to the downloaders/sellers/etc. That is, even if the works of a Canadian author are copyright-free in Canada, they may still be protected in, say, Germany or Switzerland (and the publisher who holds the rights in those countries may care). In other words, it is often the case that the home country of the author (or the country where the work was originally published) doesn't matter at all.

[Billi]

I don't think you are right. If a Canadian author is copyright-free in Canada he is copy-right free in Germany too. There is no reason the German government should be more concerned about his rights than the Canadian government. The Berne convention is clear about this.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Billi

I don't think you are right. If a Canadian author is copyright-free in Canada he is copy-right free in Germany too. There is no reason the German government should be more concerned about his rights than the Canadian government. The Berne convention is clear about this.

What you're describing is what's called "the rule of the shorter term". Some countries implement it as part of their copyright law; others don't. Our board owner, Alex, is Swiss, and for legal reasons he now needs to bring MR fully into compliance with Swiss copyright law, which unfortunately does not implement the rule of the shorter term. Hence I'm afraid we need to make the MR library strictly "life+70" compliant.

[Billi]

You can read the modifyed Berne Convention of which Switzerland is of course a member at this official Swiss site
http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/c0_231_15.html
There it goes

8) In allen Fällen richtet sich die Dauer nach dem Gesetz des Landes, in dem der
Schutz beansprucht wird; jedoch überschreitet sie, sofern die Rechtsvorschriften
dieses Landes nichts anderes bestimmen, nicht die im Ursprungsland des Werkes
festgesetzte Dauer.

what means roughly that the duration that works are protected is according to the laws of the country where the protection is needed but not longer than in the original country.

[HarryT]

Thanks, Billi; I'll bring your note to Alex's attention.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Billi

You can read the modifyed Berne Convention of which Switzerland is of course a member at this official Swiss site
http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/c0_231_15.html
There it goes

what means roughly that the duration that works are protected is according to the laws of the country where the protection is needed but not longer than in the original country.

Yes, we know that the Berne Convention doesn't require signatories to protect copyright works for longer than the protection they receive in their home country. But neither does it forbid such protection. Each country decides for itself whether or not to extend longer protection to foreign works.

Some countries do, some countries don't, and some countries have switched back and forth (including the UK, which makes working out what US works are in the public domain in the UK extremely complicated).

The page you link to just seems to be the Berne convention. You'd need to find the appropriate Swiss copyright legislation.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The page you link to just seems to be the Berne convention. You'd need to find the appropriate Swiss copyright legislation.

The information we already have is that Swiss law unfortunately does not incorporate the rule of the shorter term (which is actually rather unusual - almost all other European countries do).

[pynch]

This all seems to be very complicated. I think the easiest way to solve these questions would be to motivate Alex to move to Canada. So please take a look at these pictures, Alex:


very boring mountain in Switzerland


very beautiful mountain in Canada

Convinced?

.

[HarryT]

I believe you'll find that Switzerland is quite adequately provided for in the supply of pretty mountains, too .

[pynch]

It is of course entirely untrue what Harry says about Swiss mountains, Alex, don’t let that influence your decision (and please don’t look out of your window!).