elian wrote:
Next question: what's the exact date before which works are copyright free in the U.S.? Does US-law apply for German books, scanned in Germany and put on a server in the US or do we have to ensure that they are copyright free in both countries? German law is "70 years after the death of the author".
PS: I heard something about a lawsuit Eldrigde vs. Ashcroft at the Supreme Court - will Mickey Mouse law finally be abolished?
That is Eldred v. Ashcroft, http://eldred.cc/
The current U.S. law makes everything published before 1922 free, while the European law makes everything free when 70 years have passed after the *year* of death of the last creator (Urheber). If the Ashcroft side wins the current case, I think the U.S. law will be the same as the European laws, but I'm not sure about this. To be safe, you would be wise to follow both laws. On the other hand, perhaps there is no reason to be paranoid. I'm not a lawyer.
Note that some works are free of copyright, such as law text and some other official government documents. Works that are published with no named creator (e.g. a T-Ford owner's manual) is free when 70 years have passed after the year of publication. Works with many creators (e.g. writer + translator) are owned by all creators together, so a translation into modern German of the Niebelungenlied can be copyrighted by the translator. The old Icelandic book Heimskringla has a free English translation made in 1844, which is available online, but more recent English translations are copyrighted, http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimskringla
Wikipedia is a very good place to keep track of the death year of various authors and translators.