---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Daniel Boos <boos@pong.ch>
Date: Sat, Feb 15, 2014 at 6:37 AM
Subject: [communia-associates] Offical Public Domain FAQ from Switzerland
To: communia-associates@lists.communia-association.org


Hi all

Last year we kindly asked the Swiss Intellectual Property Institute to
write an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on questions concerning the
Public Domain. They were supportive of our idea.

Last week they published their answers (in German):
https://www.ige.ch/service/haeufige-fragen/urheberrecht/public-domain.html

Unfortunately they are in German. IPI/IGE will translate the FAQ and add
some answers about international matters. Some of the answers have
implications for archives, museums or libraries in Switzerland. For
example the FAQ makes clear:

- when works are not protected by copyright in Switzerland (e.g need for
some individual creativity (geistige Schöpfung ohne Individualität),
official protocolls and reports, scientific data, after 70 years (death
of author or if author is not known 70 years after publication), many
everyday photos)

- what one can do with works in the public domian

- that the digitalization of a work usually does not create new
intellectual property rights

- circumstances, when it is allowed to break DRM protecting public
domain works.

- it does not matter, if a work is published or not. They all fall in
the public domain 70 years after the death of the author

- ...

It also contains a nice definition in about what the public domain is. I
think it is important to have such a FAQ on the webpage of the official
agency for intellectual property matters in Switzerland. It is probably
the only FAQ on their side describing what is not protected by copyright.

I wrote a short article on the Digitale Allmend Blog.
http://allmend.ch/2014/02/ige-veroffentlicht-faq-zu-public-domain/

Please distribute it to those that might be interested.

The Swiss Intellectual Property Institute welcomes feedback. We might
discuss it on the list. If you wish, Beat Estermann and I can report back.

Best regards
Daniel Boos
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