Quote:
Originally posted by LadyMischief
Really really old material doesn't neccessarily mean copyright free, as long as there is a family member who bears the weight of copyright. Ancient things generally aren't copyrightable... :P And copyrights can also have a limitation on them, dependant on how they were issued and to whom, and the conditions of issue.
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One doesn't even need to go back to ancient times, to find public domain material. According to the US copyright office the maximum duration is the life of the author plus 95 years or 120 years in the case of work for hire. In practicle terms, that means most anything older than 200 years is fair game (with the usual caveats).
It is my understanding that in most other countries copyright durations are shorter. For example in Canada its life of the author plus 50 years.
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-duration.html
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap3.html
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-42/37792.html#rid-37875
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