IMSLP Forums

Hi,

According to the Wikipedia article on Maurice Ravel his complete works should be in the public domain ("According to international copyright law, Ravel's works are public domain since January 1, 2008 in most countries." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravel) and yet most works in the IMSLP seem to be blocked. Is this because the uploads haven't been authorised by your admins? If not, just wondering why this is the case.

Thanks,
Emits

Dear Dr Emits,

Indeed Ravel is in the public domain in the various jurisdictions following a 50 or 70 year term post mortem auctoris. However, the critical domain for IMSLP at present is the US, owing to technical and legal issues, and as you might be aware, for works published prior to 1978 there is an entirely different copyright term under US law that is not dependent on the lifetime of the composer. This is why there is currently a block on IMSLP scores that are not approved for download in the US. The management is looking into the problem, but a solution is some time away.

Regards, PML

Hi,

Thanks for the clarification. That's a shame but thank you all the same for this wonderful project!

Emits

With regard to the ravel issue, could an arrangement like the one set up for stravinsky be done, ie hosting in the EU or canada on a third party website allowing access for those who can legally download the scores?