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Copyright Law for Works Published in the Former USSR

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 3:08 pm
by dlslider
I was overjoyed to find a number of scores for music by Shostakovich and Prokofiev on this site, especially when I read that they're in the public domain in the US. I do MIDI and MP3 arrangments of works in the public domain for my site http://logoslibrary.org and am interested in several works by these composers.

Unfortunately, further research on this subject indicates that it is no longer true that works published in the USSR on or before May 27, 1973 are in the public domain in the US. Apparently, the Universal Copyright Convention was superseded by the Berne Convention and the TRIPS agreement in the mid-90s:

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bi ... D=1&P=1359

which moved a number of such works (as unfair as it seems) OUT of the public domain in this country.

The site administrator might want to look into this.