US Congress allowed to withdraw work from the public domain
Public domain (public domain) - a set of creative works, the copyright for which has expired or never existed. Some may consider that the transfer of a work into the public domain is an irreversible action. It turns out that it is not.
This week, the US Supreme Court clarified that the public domain is “not a territory with no exit” ( PDF ). In other words, books, musical compositions and other works from the public domain, if necessary, can be returned to the ownership of the right holder, if relevant laws are adopted, for example, if the copyright term has been extended.
In 1994, the US Congress decided to comply with the 1886 Bern Convention to return the copyright to foreign works, which had previously received public domain status in the United States. We are talking about a huge number of works, among them - the music of Igor Stravinsky, the famous films "The Look of the Future" (1936), "Metropolis" (1927), etc.
The Supreme Court rendered its decision after considering a petition of a group of citizens (including publishers, performers, teachers, librarians, etc.), who, among other things, created their own works based on the public domain, and now have fallen into a delicate situation and will be forced to get copyright holders. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court did not satisfy the complaint and agreed with the decision of the US Congress to return the copyright.
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A similar decision was made by the Supreme Court in 2002, when the US Congress extended the copyright to 50 years after the composer’s death to 70 years after his death. As a result, the symphonies of Shostakovich and Prokofiev were removed from the public domain, and their performers fell under license fees.
It should be noted that Russia joined the Bern Convention six years after the United States, in 1995, with the proviso that “the Bern Convention on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works does not apply to works that are already in force for the Russian Federation on its territory in the public domain. "
This week, the US Supreme Court clarified that the public domain is “not a territory with no exit” ( PDF ). In other words, books, musical compositions and other works from the public domain, if necessary, can be returned to the ownership of the right holder, if relevant laws are adopted, for example, if the copyright term has been extended.
In 1994, the US Congress decided to comply with the 1886 Bern Convention to return the copyright to foreign works, which had previously received public domain status in the United States. We are talking about a huge number of works, among them - the music of Igor Stravinsky, the famous films "The Look of the Future" (1936), "Metropolis" (1927), etc.
The Supreme Court rendered its decision after considering a petition of a group of citizens (including publishers, performers, teachers, librarians, etc.), who, among other things, created their own works based on the public domain, and now have fallen into a delicate situation and will be forced to get copyright holders. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court did not satisfy the complaint and agreed with the decision of the US Congress to return the copyright.
')
A similar decision was made by the Supreme Court in 2002, when the US Congress extended the copyright to 50 years after the composer’s death to 70 years after his death. As a result, the symphonies of Shostakovich and Prokofiev were removed from the public domain, and their performers fell under license fees.
It should be noted that Russia joined the Bern Convention six years after the United States, in 1995, with the proviso that “the Bern Convention on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works does not apply to works that are already in force for the Russian Federation on its territory in the public domain. "
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/136717/
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