I don't think the law follows the work. Rather the law follows the jurisdiction, if that's the term. There are international agreements of how such laws should

I don't think the law follows the work. Rather the law follows the jurisdiction, if that's the term. There are international agreements of how such laws should work, but Not all countries has a concept of public domain, or fair use for that matter. In Sweden copyright is split in two parts, such that the economic right (the right to produce copies or publically perform the work) is transferable and lasts for limited amounts of time (life plus 70-years for the work as such, or 50-years for a given rendering, an album f.ex.). The moral rights isn't transferable and never expires. These include the authors right to be credited for the work, and also include the states right to interfere if the cultural interest of the work is threatened (no idea what this would entail, or if this has ever been invoked).