We can, of course, test this now - just compare the new text against an older edition and see what the changes are - I suspect that individually and collectively they are, in fact, very minor.
And whether the publisher thinks an introduction and commentary is divisible or not doesn't matter - it's easy to create a version without them.
I think the laws you quoted shows clearly that the 50th anniversary text will also fall into the public domain on 1st January 2044 in the US. And I think elsewhere, too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sirbruce
Analysis:
As you say, his introductions and commenatries would receive new copyrights. As to the numerous "editorial revisions", I don't think there is any relevant case law specifically on this point. However, given the substantial amount of work that went into numerous changes and revisions for the 50th Anniversary Edition (on which these ebooks are derived), you can bet that they would try to defend the copyright of those editions even after the earlier editions pass into public domain. I'm sure they would also argue that you can't separate the introductions and commentaries from the textual revisions; they go hand in hand as part of a "new work". IANAL.
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