[LINK] copyright question for you

[Kim Holburn]

I was thinking about this and I wonder: under current copyright law, if an author is dead and their work has never been published, then supposedly copyright starts from the year the work is published.  Does the year they died make any difference?  If they died in 1789 would copyright still apply?  1800?  1900?

Kim

On 2012/Apr/30, at 5:01 PM, rene wrote:

> On Sun, 29 Apr 2012 21:27:27 +1000, Kim Holburn wrote:
> [...]
>> This is apparently current copyright law, based on the 2006
>> amendments.  I was wondering if the fact that in this case the author
>> died in 1927 means that copyright comes under a different law.
> 
>> In this case some of the author's work was published but some is
>> unpublished and it is the unpublished work that is in question.  Also
>> it appears that if the author is dead then the ownership is based on
>> (from the above quote) "left by will" or "laws re
>> lating to intestacy" which I know little about and tracing the
>> surviving relatives of someone who died in 1927 is not simple and was
>> tried unsuccessfully 30 years ago.
> 
> Soiunds like the material in question would be what's apparently called 
> "orphan works", Currently, apparently there's no means in AU law by which 
> such material can be safely published, but the issue *might" be part of the 
> ALRC copyright review recently announced. 
> 
> Suggest read:
> Australian Copyright Council Fact Sheet - Orphan Works, Jan 2012
> http://www.copyright.org.au/admin/cms-acc1/_images/20179098074f39b2f4a1991.
> pdf
> 
> and/or numerous other docs about "orphan works" on AU web sites that are 
> readily findable by search on that term.
> 
> Irene
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Link mailing list
> Link at mailman.anu.edu.au
> http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link

-- 
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
T: +61 2 61402408  M: +61 404072753
mailto:kim at holburn.net  aim://kimholburn
skype://kholburn - PGP Public Key on request