Re: Wartime copyright term extensions

William Grantham <billgra[_at_]rmslaw.com> wrote:
>
> On Sun, 30 Aug 1998, Pascal Kamina <pkamina[_at_]club-internet.fr> wrote:
> >
> > William Grantham <billgra[_at_]rmslaw.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > Can anybody help me with the exact length of the wartime extension
> > > to the Italian copyright term for nationals of the (non-Italian)
> > > signatories to the 1947 peace treaty? My reference sources say the
> > > extension runs from "the day World War II started" until December 25,
> > > 1947. Is the starting date when Germany invaded Poland (Sept. 1,
> > > 1939)? Or when Britain and France declared war on Germany (Sept. 3,
> > > 1939)? Or, maybe more likely, when Italy declared war on Britain and
> > > France (June 10, 1940)?
> > >
> > > To compound the problem, I have a reference to decisions of the Tribunal
> > > of Rome on February 17 and May 29, 1995 (Diritto di Autore, 1995, 591 &
> > > 604) which are said to state that the wartime extension lasts 5 years
> > > and 10 months -- a period compatible with none of the above.
> > >
> > > Believe it or not, this question is of more than purely theoretical
> > > interest to me. Thanks to any of you for helping out.
> >
> > Bill,
> >
> > I do not know if this can be of any use to you, but apparently the
> > Italian Act of February 6, 1996 (No52) abrogated war extensions (article
> > 17-1). The Act implemented the durational provisions of the EU Term
> > Directive of 1993 (extension to 70 years p.m.a with specific provisions
> > for films).
> >
> > I read in one (French) report that the extension was six years.
> >
> > Any Italian lawyer around?
>
> Naturally, my reference source -- a respectable one, Geller's
> International Copyright Law and Practice -- states precisely the
> opposite: that Law No. 52 of 1996 did _not_ abrogate the wartime
> extension. I haven't been able to find the text of Law No. 52 on the
> Internet, so remain in the dark. Can anyone break this deadlock?

Oops. Sorry if it's a wrong info. My source is the General Study on Copyright Duration in Cinematographic Works produced by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations, Nov 97 (p 33). Should I throw this away? or my Nimmer-Geller? (The Geller is more expensive, though).

Pascal Kamina
<pkamina[_at_]club-internet.fr> Received on Thu Sep 03 1998 - 17:04:25 GMT