Re: Constitutional Challenge to (C) Code

Actually, Berne stipulates _life of the author_ plus fifty years, not 50 years, period. Why the Germans settled on 70 years pma is a mystery to me: why we (and the rest of the EC) followed suit is a rather complicated story, but basically it turns on the fact that the EC Treaty stipulates that nothing done under it can interfere with property rights granted by national law - including IP rights - and harmonisation at a level lower than the German term would deprive authors of rights in Germany.

Perhaps someone could explain why Germany went for the longer term (perhaps someone already has and I missed it in this thread). I hope it's a more convincing reason than the author plus two generations argument.

Peter Groves
Davis & Co
The Gate House
Cliffords Inn Passage
London EC4A 1DN
+44 1235 832346
<petergroves[_at_]compuserve.com> Received on Wed Apr 01 1998 - 21:18:22 GMT