Protection for critical editions in German copyright law

ousia · 03-31-2014, 01:56 AM

I would like to confirm whether the text itself is also protected under the German law in a critical edition of an already published work whose standard copyright term has expired.

With an example, if I critically edited the poems of Homer in ancient Greek, would I be granted a new copyright protection under the German law for the text itself (not the different apparatus) with only a shorter 25 year term?

Many thanks for your help.

pynch · 03-31-2014, 02:15 AM

Yes, the text itself is protected, but it has to be fundamentally different from previous editions (new spelling or revised punctuation isn’t enough). The text of the law is here.

03-31-2014, 01:56 AM	#1
ousia Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 40680 Join Date: Aug 2012 Device: Sony PRS-T1	Protection for critical editions in German copyright law I would like to confirm whether the text itself is also protected under the German law in a critical edition of an already published work whose standard copyright term has expired. With an example, if I critically edited the poems of Homer in ancient Greek, would I be granted a new copyright protection under the German law for the text itself (not the different apparatus) with only a shorter 25 year term? Many thanks for your help.

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03-31-2014, 02:15 AM	#2
pynch why in? Posts: 1,620 Karma: 28802432 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Aura	Yes, the text itself is protected, but it has to be fundamentally different from previous editions (new spelling or revised punctuation isn’t enough). The text of the law is here.

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