RE: Questions regarding restoration of copyright in certain forei gn works under GATT

Calle Østergaard wrote:

>Yes - that is wrong!
>There is no requirement that the work should be imported the statute simply
>speaks about work "published".

Thanks--when the case is publication rather than importation, do you happen to know what the point is of the stipulation that the foreign work should not be published in the US within 30 days of the publication of the book in the country of origin? (Just curious; I don't get what purpose the 30-day prohibition is supposed to serve).

>The second one is, if a work wasn't copyrighted in the US because at the
>time of first authorized publication in the US the work wasn't in copyright
>in the source country, but then at a later date the work became copyrighted
>in the source country, then is the work subject to restoration of copyright
>in the US?

>>What do you mean by "it was not copyrighted in the source country" ?

>>For countries adhering to the Berner Convention the works is "copyrighted"
>>when created by the author providing the work is original. Please remember
>>no formalities are requested for protection by members of the Berner
Convention.

Trust me, it wasn't copyrighted in the source country (the powers that be deemed, I believe, that it was not literary).

So, would its copyright be restored under GATT here in the US, given that it was ultimately granted copyright in the country of origin, or do the circumstances of its first authorized publication in the US (wherein the work was not copyrighted, not because of a failure to comply with statutory formalites, but because both US and source country publisher believed that work was in the public domain) determine its copyright status forever in the US?

Thanks again,
MJ Devaney Received on Tue Oct 31 2000 - 14:38:04 GMT