[LINK] copyright question for you

[sylvano]

The Gutenberg provides some info to help explore copyright reality...

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Copyright_How-To

IANAL 
Sylvano

On 29/04/2012, at 5:38 PM, Roger Clarke <Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au> wrote:

> At 16:25 +1000 29/4/12, Kim Holburn wrote:
>> I have a strange copyright question for those of you that might 
>> know.  Someone wants to publish writings of someone who died in 1927 
>> with no descendants.  Some of her work was published in 1985 and 
>> some is yet unpublished.
>> As I understand it, (and IANAL) copyright starts from the moment a 
>> work is published, but it belongs to the author or the author's 
>> descendants.  Does this apply even if the author died so long ago 
>> and what happens if the author had no descendants?
>> Also this author is Australian and lived in Australia.  Now if her 
>> work is going to be published in the UK how does that change things?
> 
> I wonder if copyright.com.au offers a ready-reckoner ...
> 
> IANAL and this simple answer is very probably *wrong* - but may help 
> tempt someone who actually knows what they're talking about to do the 
> sums  (%-|}
> 
> 1.  Whether there were descendants or not is irrelevant.
> 2.  Who the ownership vested in is irrelevant.
> 3.  Death of the author plus 50 years, at that time = 1977 expiry.
> 4.  Subsequent extension to 70 years not retrospective to that work.
> 
> So it's open for publication, i.e. 'in the public domain'.
> 
> -- 
> Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
> 
> Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
>                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
> mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/
> 
> Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law               University of NSW
> Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University
> _______________________________________________
> Link mailing list
> Link at mailman.anu.edu.au
> http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link