RE: Query about copyright on translations

[Edward Barrow <edward@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm afraid that I'm not competent to clarify the details of the 
transitional arrangements in the USA, which I understand cover at least two 
transitions: from the fixed, 56yr regime, to life plus 50, and the recent 
Sonny Bono extension to life plus 70.

I could tell you about those in the EU, but I'm not sure they'd answer your 
query. Here all such works are life-plus-70, although there is a statutory 
licensing regime for those works which went back into copyright in the UK 
when term was extended to life plus 70. These had never gone out of 
copyright in Germany, where life-plus-70 has been the norm for a very long 
time.

You are right, however, in that you do not need to concern yourselves with 
the work's copyright status in Germany. The principle of national treatment 
means that you need concern yourself only with the laws of the USA, if that 
is where you intend to make your copy.

The general point that translations are original copyright works is covered 
in Article 2(3) of Berne; while Art.8 provides that translation is an 
exclusive right of the original author.

Edward Barrow
New Media Copyright Consultant
http://www.copyweb.co.uk/
***Important:   see http://www.copyweb.co.uk/email.htm for information 

Janet wrote:

This is a question for Edward Barrow regarding your reply on the query
raised by Jack Fritts. You write that "the copyright in the translation
belongs to the translator to begin with and lasts for the life of the
translator plus 70 years." If the translation were made before 1978, the
rules on this would be different, wouldn't they? A translation made and
published between 1923 and 1978 would be calculated on the basis of the
date of publication and probably be valid for 95 years from publication,
it seems to me. I also think this would be true whether the translation
were published in the U.S. or in Germany, for a work being protected in
the U.S. I often see general statements about life + 70, without reference
to older works. Can you kindly clarify? Thank you,

Janice Pilch