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So the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, who died in 1973, will enter the public domain in New Zealand (and other countries) next year? Or do they not, as he presumably
by dry_soup 3y ago
So the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, who died in 1973, will enter the public domain in New Zealand (and other countries) next year? Or do they not, as he presumably published his works in the UK? Or they enter the public domain in New Zealand et al. but not in other countries?
- mod50ack 3y agoIn Life+50 countries, they'll enter the public domain. In the UK and other Life+70 countries, they won't.
- galangalalgol 3y agoSo can they host the Gutenberg project in NZ then? There is no feasible way for people to prevent people from downloading the hobbit. They couldn't stop music or movie downloads except by adopting a subscription model that effectively reduced the prices. These files are tiny and the ethical case against it is so much harder to make. Edit: also, these are the sorts of books that don't get lumped into subscriptions and are often missing from digital libraries.
- skissane 3y ago> So can they host the Gutenberg project in NZ then? There is already an Australian branch of Project Gutenberg, which hosts some works which (for complex/obscure legal reasons) are still under copyright in the US but now public domain in Australia (e.g. the works of George Orwell). I don’t think there is a New Zealand equivalent, but I’m sure if someone was sufficiently motivated it could happen https://gutenberg.net.au/ https://gutenberg.net.au/
- cjpearson 3y agoThey can, but they'd have to make those downloads only available to NZ users. This is also why American sites need to block EU users or comply with the GDPR. You can't just pick a server location with the laxest laws. IIRC, Gutenberg already does this, limiting access from Germany which has a stricter copyright than the US.
- galangalalgol 3y agoDoes Gutenberg block access or does Germany? If gutenberg NZ had no presence outside NZ would it even matter? And even if it was blocked, vpn works fine. Just checked and the AU site lets me access things I shouldn't where I am, so they clearly aren't that concerned.
- mod50ack 3y agoNo, there is no requirement under US law to preemptively block non-US users, or under NZ law to block non-NZ users. German courts held that there was jurisdiction over PG because they had content in German, and PG decided to comply. But you can, in fact, pick a server location with lax laws. But you may be susceptible to get sued elsewhere (in some cases), and the local country can force ISPs to block your site, too, if you don't respond.
- ginko 3y agoWhat would be the New Zealand connection of Tolkien (other than the peter jackson movies)?
- mod50ack 3y agoThere's none. But the validity of a copyright of a work is dependent on the place in which you're applying the law, not on the place where the author is from (except when applying the rule of the shorter term). Tons of works are in the public domain in one country, but not another.
- bluGill 3y agoThe oldest still in effect copyright I know of is from 1611: the King James translation of the bible is still copyright of the crown in the UK. No other country recognizes that copyright.
- hinkley 3y agoSo I can get a King James Bible easy peasy pretty much anywhere in the world except in James' home country. High larious.
- metalliqaz 3y agoOf course it is also easy to find in UK.
- lolinder 3y agoBut is it legal to post the full text online without paying anything to the Crown?
- anticensor 3y agoPay, yes; permission, no; it is a mandatory licence, unlike many state royalty subjects.