Soviet copyright law (2)

[Janice Pilch]

Dear Russell,

Alexandra Ioannidou answered this question earlier today. No, 
the Russians do not claim copyright over Dr. Zhivago. Years 
ago there was considerable controversy over Doctor Zhivago, 
first published in Italy in Italian translation by G. 
Feltrinelli in 1958. Insofar as Italy was a member of the UCC 
and Berne Convention, the work was granted full protection in 
all member states of both conventions, and remains protected 
under Italian law. Use of this work in the U.S. is based on 
U.S.-Italy copyright relations, use of it in Russia is based 
on Russia-Italy copyright relations. Russian publishers need 
to seek permissions from the Italian copyright holder to 
publish versions of the work.

At first glance, many works published from the mid-1980s in 
Russia appear to have copyrights based on "place of 
publication"--Moscow, St. Petersburg, etc. But this is 
deceiving. The critical factor in the determination is the 
country of FIRST publication. It is important to know the 
history of any work that might have been published in 
circumstances that are not apparent, because one might find 
that the country of origin is in fact not Russia or the 
Soviet Union at all. 

Russia protects Dr. Zhivago based on Russia-Italy copyright 
relations, since they both belong the Berne Convention. 
Russia grants the work the same protection it offers its own 
works. There is a special term for people posthumously 
rehabilitated--70 years from rehabilitation. Since Pasternak 
was rehabilitated in 1987, the protection for his works will 
last for quite some time. From the current law: 

В случае, если автор был репрессирован и реабилитирован 
посмертно, то срок охраны прав, предусмотренный настоящей 
статьей, начинает действовать с 1 января года, следующего за 
годом реабилитации. 

Sincerely,

Janice Pilch

---- Original message ----
>Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2005 23:44:50 -0600
>From: Russell Valentino <russell-valentino at UIOWA.EDU>  
>Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Soviet copyright law  
>To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
>
>Edward Dumanis brings up an interesting point in dealing 
with Soviet 
>publications, it seems to me. Do the Russians also claim 
copyright over Doctor 
>Zhivago now, published for the first time in the USSR 
(postumously) in 1989, 
>long after more complete versions had appeared outside the 
USSR? Would it also 
>be "protected" in Russia?
>
>Quoting Edward M Dumanis <dumanis at BUFFALO.EDU>:
>
>> I am not sure here why journal Moskva's publication is a 
starting point.
>> It was not a full version published at that time; it was 
cut by the
>> Soviet censors. The full version was first published in 
the West. Should
>> we count then from the time of the first western edition? 
And should then
>> Russia obey the same rules of counting?
>> 
>> Sincerely,
>> 
>> Edward Dumanis <dumanis at buffalo.edu>
>> 
>> On Tue, 8 Mar 2005, Janice Pilch wrote:
>> 
>> ............/snip/....................
>> 
>> > Another interesting example is that of Bulgakov's The 
Master 
>> > and Margarita, written in the years before Bulgakov's 
death 
>> > in 1940, and first published in Moscow in the journal 
Moskva 
>> > in 1966-67. The term of protection for posthumously 
published 
>> > works in Russia is now 70 years from publication. This 
means 
>> > that The Master and Margarita is protected in Russia 
through 
>> > 2037. Since it was protected in Russia on January 1, 
1996, 
>> > the novel is protected in the U.S. for 95 years from 
>> > publication, through 2062. 
>> 
>> -----------------------------------------------------------
--------------
>>  Use your web browser to search the archives, control your 
subscription
>>   options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web 
Interface at:
>>                     http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
>> -----------------------------------------------------------
--------------
>> 
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------
------------
> Use your web browser to search the archives, control your 
subscription
>  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web 
Interface at:
>                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
>-------------------------------------------------------------
------------
----------------------------------------
Janice T. Pilch, Assistant Professor of Library Administration
Acting Head, Acquisitions, Slavic and East European Library
Librarian for South Slavic Studies and Slavic Languages & Literatures
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1408 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801
Tel. (217) 244-9399  E-mail: pilch at uiuc.edu