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OT - Public Domain Update for January 1st 2024 (US Law - many others by treaty)

DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,173
in The Commons

Under US Law, in general, the public domain now includes works in 1928 and earlier, and sound recordings in 1923 and earlier.  An example of a work is Disney's Steamboat Willie, which has Mickey Mouse.  An example of a sound recording is Cole Porter's 'Let's Do It.'

More information from a Duke Law School site.

https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2024/#:~:text=January 1, 2024 is Public,are sound recordings from 1923!&text=On January 1, 2024, thousands,, share, and build upon.

Comments

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,173
    edited January 2

    Orphan Works.  This term refers to works whose copyright status is problematic.  They may be still under copyright but the lawful copyright holder cannot be found, or cannot be identified.  This is relevant if a museum has a copy that is deteriorating and is considering spending money to restore and preserve it.  It is arguable that no one gains from the copyright protection while legitimate organizations hesitate to digitize them, or more importantly to preserve them.

    Find info on orphan works with additional links here.  https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2024/shrinking/

    Excerpt quote

    "The exceptionally long copyright term has also created a growing limbo of “orphan works.” These works are still presumably under copyright (only works published with authorization in 1928 or before are conclusively in the public domain), but the copyright owner cannot be identified or found (tracking down the copyright holders of older works is often impossible — read accounts of thwarted efforts to do so here). Orphan works comprise much of the record of 20th century culture — studies have found that only 2 percent of works between 55 and 75 years old continue to retain commercial value. For the other 98% of works, no one benefits from continued copyright protection, while the entire public loses the ability to adapt, transform, preserve, digitize, republish, and otherwise make new and valuable uses of these forgotten works. Read more about the current costs associated with orphan works here and here.

    In the words of the US Copyright Office, “For good faith users, orphan works are a frustration, a liability risk, and a major cause of gridlock in the digital marketplace. . . This outcome is difficult if not impossible to reconcile with the objectives of the copyright system and may unduly restrict access to millions of works that might otherwise be available to the public.” So far, the US has failed to enact orphan works reform. However, in 2012, the European Union passed limited orphan works legislation – its Directive allows qualifying public institutions (such as libraries and museums) to digitize the orphan works in their collections and make them available to the public."

    Post edited by Diomede on
  • ArtiniArtini Posts: 9,467

    Very interesting, Diomede, thanks for posting these informations.

     

  • mwokeemwokee Posts: 1,275

    Old news but what's interesting is a lot of iconic classics have gone public domain the past few years with more to come in the short term.

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,173

    A day old.  laugh

    Kidding, I know what you mean.  The update is just for which materials are affected by the new year.  Here is a list of some of the movies that should be affected next year.

    https://criticstop10.com/best-movies-of-1929/

  • TriCounterTriCounter Posts: 545

    Must admit, I thought there would be something Steamboat Willie related on here...

    Was watching a news reel on youtube for CBS saying Batman and Superman are due pretty soon too but I wouldn't call 2034/35 soon myself lol

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