4 ms·
Note that for a number of EU countries, US works are in the public domain once they are PD-US due to the application of the rule of the shorter term.
by mod50ack 4y ago
Note that for a number of EU countries, US works are in the public domain once they are PD-US due to the application of the rule of the shorter term.
- londons_explore 4y agoAnd in other countries, it's really unlikely you'll end up in prison or sued for using something that is both 75 years old and already public domain elsewhere in the world.
- fjfaase 4y agoThere are a number of books that are based on Winnie-the-Pooh and quoting fragments. For a long time, I have had the idea to write a kind of annotated version of the stories with references to all the books that reference the text. I understand Disney has the rights to the Winnie-the-Pooh character and that they still might cause trouble for those who publish text from the books in Europe.
- mod50ack 4y agoNone of A. A. Milne's work will enter the PD anywhere in the EU until 2027, including all the elements of his character Winnie the Pooh, not counting elements introduced by other writers who added more later.
- mod50ack 4y agoIt's about equally unlikely that you'll end up in prison or sued for downloading copyrighted content in the United States, especially if it is PD elsewhere. In fact, if it is PD elsewhere, the chances of your being prosecuted for downloading it approach zero. Works passing into the public domain have very little to do with people actually getting practically slapped around for downloading them. But they have EVERYTHING to do with creating derivative works. If you create a film based on a book that is PD-US but still copyrighted in the EU, you can expect to get sued. PD terms also affect legal libraries and archive significantly.
- mannerheim 4y agoGermany forced Project Gutenberg to take down a few books for Germans who used the site a couple years ago, despite the site being entirely operated from the US.
- quickthrower2 4y agoSounds reasonable.
- mannerheim 4y agoIt's not reasonable for someone to assume liability in a country they don't operate in.
- quickthrower2 4y agoDid they block German traffic? And thats not snark: English gambling sites used to have to block US traffic
- fjfaase 4y agohttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29024039 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29024039 for an earlier discussion and details about this.
- incompatible 4y agoSome works from that era still have publishers enforcing the copyright wherever they can. I remember some disputes about the Sherlock Holmes books which expired in life + 70 countries but were still under copyright in the USA.