Hello.

I have a question about copyrights and public domain. I know very well
how are copyright terms in the US according to the following page by
the University of North Carolina:

http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm

but I am not sure how copyrights work in other countries (except the
fact the most of the countries accept the "70 years rule"). The
following page from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain


is a little confusing for me and I don't understand if, for example,
the rule which states that  "a work created and first published before
January 1, 1923 is in the public domain" exists and is acknowledged
even in other countries besides the US.

In particular I am interested to know when works (music works in
particular) pass and is considered in the public domain in the
following countries:

- Europe: in particular UK, Italy, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal
- Asia: in particular Japan, China and Indonesia
- North America: in particular Canada and Mexico
- South America: in particular Brazil
- Australia and New Zealand



Any help is really appreciated.

My best regards,
Fabrizio Ferrari

Dear 

Here are the time spans it takes in various countries before a work
passes into the public domain:


-- UK, Italy, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal --

Since 1993, the European Union has harmonized regulations defining at
what point a copyrighted work becomes public domain (the term "public
domain" is, of course, only used in  the English-speaking EU
countries. In Germany, for example, the term is "gemeinfrei"
(adjective), resp. "Gemeinfreiheit" (noun), and other countries also
use terms from their national languages). The regulation is defined in
the "Directive on harmonising the term of copyright protection"
(Directive 93/98/EEC of 29 October 1993). According to it, works
become public domain 70 years after the death of the original creator
(post mortem auctoris, pma). This EU law applies to all the six
countries mentioned above.



-- Japan --

Japanese copyright law protects a work for 50 years after the author's death.



-- China --

Chinese copyright expires 50 years after the original author's death.



-- Indonesia --

In Indonesia, works are protected by copyright for 50 years after the
author's death.



-- Canada --

According to section 6 of the Copyright Act the copyright of a work
lasts the life of the author plus 50 years from the end of the
calendar year of death. If the author is anonymous or pseudonymous
then the copyright lasts for either 50 years from the publication of
the work or 75 years from the making of the work, whichever is
shorter.



-- Mexico --

Since 2004, copyright protection in Mexico lasts for 100 years after
the author's death.



-- Brazil --

Brazilian Copyright Law No. 9610 of 19 February 1998 defines that a
work passes into the public domain 70 years after the author's death.



-- Australia --

For most literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, copyright
lasts for the 70 years after the end of the year in which the author
died. Sound recordings (but not the underlying scores etc.) made
before 1 May 1969 are protected for 70 years from the making of the
recording; recordings made after that date are protected for 70 years
after first publication of the recording.


-- New Zealand --

Copyright  in literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works expires
50 years after the original author died. Copyright in films and sound
recordings (but not the underlying scripts or score and the like) last
for 50 years after production. If a such work is made available to the
public before the end of that fifty year period, copyright lasts for
50 years from year in which the work was first made available.



Hope this answers your question!
Regards,
Scriptor



Sources:

Caslon Analytics: Duration of Copyright - Overview
http://www.caslon.com.au/durationprofile.htm

Caslon Analytics: Duration of Copyright - The Australian Regime
http://www.caslon.com.au/durationprofile1.htm

Caslon Analytics: Duration of Copyright - New Zealand
http://www.caslon.com.au/durationprofile2.htm

Wikipedia: Public Domain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain

Brazilian Law No. 9610 on Copyright (PDF File)
http://200.244.61.28/Textos/pdf/9610_19_2_98_i.pdf

Wikipedia: Urheberrecht (in German)
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urheberrecht

Wikipedia: Gemeinfreiheit (in German)
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemeinfreiheit

Wikipedia: Directive on harmonising the term of copyright protection
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directive_on_harmonising_the_term_of_copyright_protection

Wikipedia: Copyright Act of Canada
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Act_of_Canada

Wikipedia: List of countries' copyright length
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries'_copyright_length

Unesco: Brazilian Copyright Law
http://www.unesco.org/culture/copy/copyright/brazil/page1.html

Unesco: Collection of National Copyright Laws
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=14076&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

University of Pennsylvania: How Can I Tell Whether a Book Can Go Online?
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/okbooks.html

Library Law Blog: Gone with the Wind in the public domain? Will Peter
Pan never grow up?
http://blog.librarylaw.com/librarylaw/2004/11/emgone_with_the.html

---

Request for Answer Clarification by fablau-ga on 04 Aug 2005 19:09 PDT

Thank you for your reply and information, it is almost what I looked
for. One more question: did you find any information related to the US
rule of works published first before January 1, 1923 applied on other
countries? Or is that a US only rule?

Thank you again.

Fabrizio

---

Clarification of Answer by scriptor-ga on 05 Aug 2005 03:41 PDT

Dear Fabrizio,

During my research, I did not find examples for that particular U.S.
rule being used in other countries.

Greetings,
Scriptor

Thank you Scriptor, I had the information I looked for.

All the best,
Fabrizio