Term Extension in Europe

 I am still trying to understand some of the "harmonization" that was effected by the copyright term extension directive in the European Union.

 As far as I can tell, two countries (Germany and the UK) did not follow the "rule of the shorter term" prior to the Directive. The protection of US works in those two countries after the legislative responses to the Directive is complex, but it appears that US works will be protected in both for at least 50 years after the authors' deaths (and in Germany, in many cases, for 70 after death). These terms of protection for works already in existence at the time of the extension legislation in Europe will apply regardless of whether the US extends its terms by 20 years, as currently proposed.

 My question concerns the other countries of the EU, specifically, those that DID follow the "rule of the shorter term" even prior to the Directive, such as France, Italy, and the Netherlands. Most of these countries, I believe (but please correct me if I am wrong), adopted the term extension retroactively, that is, they resurrected copyrights that had previously expired (50 years after the death of the author) to continue for the remainder of the new life + 70 term. Did any or all of these countries extend the terms for US copyrights that are still in force in the US although they had expired under the life + 50 regime?  That could happen, for example, for an author who published a work in 1925 and who died in 1945. That work (if properly renewed in the US in 1953) is still under copyright in the US (until year 2000, unless further extended). The copyright expired in Europe under the rule of the shorter term in 1995. Did such US copyrights get resurrected in Europe? It seems to me that such resurrection would be demanded by Berne, but I am trying to confirm that it was actually effected.

Dennis S. Karjala
Professor of Law
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona 85287
602-965-4010
602-965-2427 (fax)
dennis.karjala[_at_]asu.edu
Visit the "Opposing Copyright Extension" web page at <http://www.public.asu.edu/~dkarjala> Received on Wed Apr 16 1997 - 22:35:58 GMT