4 ms·
Regrettably, thanks to the international nature of the internet, it may still be legally hazardous to make works in the public domain in one's own country avail
by blacksqr 3y ago
Regrettably, thanks to the international nature of the internet, it may still be legally hazardous to make works in the public domain in one's own country available on the internet.
The legal question of whether putting something on an internet server constitutes publication in all countries simultaneously or just in the country where the server exists is still unsettled. So for example a UK citizen may wish to put Tolkien's works on the internet now that they are in the public domain there, but Tolkien's estate might decide to sue from the United States, or from many countries in Europe. Individuals and small entities are likely unwilling to bear the legal risk.
So the effective public domain date, from the viewpoint of the internet, is set by the countries with the longest protection terms, which appear to be Spain (80 years) and the US (95 years for works made for hire).
- bombcar 3y agoGutenberg has been doing this for years. There are works accessible on certain mirrors that are unavailable elsewhere.
- TylerE 3y agoLikewise IMSLP with sheet music. They have gotten very, very good at navigating the various public domain regimes. The stuff that's worldwide public domain gets hosted on their main infrastructure, but they then have (legally separate) operations in several countries with various regimes (-CA, -US, -RU, at least, maybe a few more) that hosts files that aren't cleared worldwide.
- mod50ack 3y agoThere's no Russian server. The broader IMSLP network has: - Main server: for files thar are PD in the US and Canada - IMSLP-EU: PD-EU and PD-CA, but not PD-US - PML-CA: PD-CA, but not PD-EU or PD-US - PML-US: PD-US, but not PD-CA Anyway, there's stuff we're working on in any case... some infrastructure improvements.
- TylerE 3y agoGlad to here about it! I'm geeking out over Atterberg's 6th symphony right now, the score of which got uploaded a few hours ago. May even re-engrave it since there is a score but no parts, and it's instrumental demands don't put it out of reach of an enterprising community orchestra.
- mod50ack 3y agoYes, I'm the one who uploaded it. Right now I'm busy as I have a huge pile of things to process and upload...
- blacksqr 3y agoI'm curious to know just how reliably one can filter access by country, and if there are resources for someone interested in doing it.
- blacksqr 3y agoIs it really possible to block access from certain countries sufficiently to avoid legal exposure? It's easy enough to spoof one's physical location. Is an organization off the hook if location-based filters are circumvented via VPN etc.?
- plugin-baby 3y agoAre you spoofing your physical location? Or is the host allowing content to your proxy in a legal jurisdiction, and then you are exporting the content illegally?
- blacksqr 3y agoGood question. Another question is, how will a court in a foreign country answer? Court decisions in the US on jurisdiction of cross-border internet postings have been contradictory, and I know of none in non-US countries. Each country gets to rule on jurisdictional matters on its own terms.