At 9:50 AM +0200 9/4/05, Johannes Gebauer wrote:
On 5:34 Uhr John Howell wrote:
That is actually not surprising at all. Because U.S. copyright law
was based on date of first publication, and most European law was
based on the lifetime of the composer, a great many works were in
copyright in Europe but in the public domain in the U.S. Not a
grey area at all, just a matter of geography.
In Europe there is also a copyright of the engraving itself, which I
understand is not possible in the US. In Europe it is simply illegal
to reprint an engraved page as long as it is in copyright (75
years?). It makes no difference whether it contains any editorial
additions at all.
That is correct. This graphic copyright has never existed in U.S.
law, which may explain why the reprint houses like Kalmus, Dover, and
Luck's are all located in the U.S. One can trademark a graphic such
as a recognizable logo, but not copyright it.
I am curious whether the E.U. has regularized differences in
copyright law among its various countries, or whether that was
already accomplished through Berne, etc.
John
--
John & Susie Howell
Virginia Tech Department of Music
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034
(mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html
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