Works published in the former Soviet Union

[goldberg988]

I think that there was already a thread on this subject, but I couldn't find it. I need some information on some scores I am considering scanning that were published in the former Soviet Union, by the State Music Publishers unless otherwise noted.

Examples:
Alexander Scriabin, 1st Symphony, 1971
Kabalevsky (d. 1987), The comedians, 1968
Kabalevsky, Romeo and Juliet, 1959
Khachaturian, 2nd Symphony, 1969
Glazounov, Chopiniana, 1964
Glazounov, 3rd Symphony, 1959
Tcherepnin, Six musical illustrations "The Tale of the Fish and the Fisherman", 1969
Rimsky-Korsakov, Complete Works, 1960s
Prokofiev, Complete Works, 1960s (I'm pretty sure this isn't PD anywhere)
Tchaikovsky, Complete Works, 1950s and 60s
Mussorgsky, Complete Works, n.d. (This is a Kalmus reprint and also the edition reprinted by Dover for the piano works, so it should be OK in the US)

I also will be scanning the complete edition of Nikolai Medtner, published in the 60s, and I assume that will be OK for at least the US, since that is the edition that Dover reprints.

I also have some parts for a Rachmaninoff symphony, published in the 60s.

So, my question is, what dates (specifically, death of the composer and the date of publication) are required for Soviet editions to be in the public domain in the US, and what dates are required for it to be public domain in Canada.

This has always been a very confusing topic to me, so any help is appreciated. I want to make sure an edition is uploadable before I scan it.

[imslp]

So, my question is, what dates (specifically, death of the composer and the date of publication) are required for Soviet editions to be in the public domain in the US, and what dates are required for it to be public domain in Canada.

This has always been a very confusing topic to me, so any help is appreciated. I want to make sure an edition is uploadable before I scan it.

It is indeed a confusing topic. There are a few opinions.

I've asked Carolus about this, and I think he suggested that maybe Russian has a copyright law similar to Germany, where scientific editions are only protected for a very limited period of time. I think I also remember somewhere in this forum there's a post about the fact that reengravings are not considered copyrightable in Russia. But this is just me going on my memories, so I may be wrong. I would very much like Carolus to confirm or correct me

I also think that, even if there is copyright, there would be no copyright owner, since the publishing houses were owned by the USSR government, which no longer exists. Of course, there's also the question of whether government works are copyrightable anyway.

But, if Dover reprints it, I'm pretty sure we are also in the clear for Canada, because the US awards a longer copyright term to re-engravings than Canada. And Canada does have the Berne Rule of the Shorter Term, so there should be no way for the publication to be in the public domain in the US but not in Canada.

[Carolus]

The copyright situation for works published in the old USSR (called simply the "soyuz" by the natives) is somewhat confusing. The GATT/TRIPS amendments to the US Copyright law "restored" Soviet works to protection (which they'd previously not enjoyed in the US at all). However, that rule apparently only appplied to original works and arrangements. Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Kabalevsky, and Khachaturian all have NIEs on file, along with numerous other less well-known composers. The State Publishing House Muzika was sold to Music Sales in the wake of the Soviet collapse in 1991 and became G. Schirmer Moscow.

Certain qualifications had to be met in order to file an NIE. One of these was that a work could not be PD in its country of origin, another was that government-funded works generally did not qualify. Thus, all the Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Rimsky editions are almost certainly free in the US. The Kalmus and Luck catalogs are full of them to this very day. In contrast, they removed all of the composers mentioned in the paragraph above in January 1996 and had a tremendous "fire sale" of all their stock for those composers in the months following - much to the delight of numerous orchestras. There are a couple of odd holdovers by Rodion Shchedrin where the NIE was not filed that still appear in their catalog.

Another factor I've noted is the large number of the Muzika editions availble for download on Russian sites - though to be fair these sites do seem to be rather cavalier about observing copyrights as can be seen by all manner of Beatles tunes, etc. My suspicion is that the editions are most likely PD in Russia. I seem to recall that the maximum term under USSR copyright law was 30 years after date of publication. The Soviet law most likely remained in force until the mid-90s. The life plus 70 law was enacted only in 2004 and does not apply to any author who died before 1953.

Prokofiev has been PD in Canada since 1/1/04. For the USA, only works published before 1923 are PD. Kabalevsky and Khachaturian are protected in Canada, as both died in the 1980s. They're copyright in the USA now also. The Tchaikovsky, Rimsky, Scriabin, Medtner, Glazunov, and Mussorgsky editions have all been reprinted by Kalmus. No NIEs were registered for the editions because they were 1) funded by a government; and 2) PD in their country of origin in most cases.

[imslp]

Mostly just for the record, I'll note here that apparently USSR copyright law gives a copyright term of simply life (no added years) in Section 105 of the USSR copyright law, which is interesting:

http://www2.cddc.vt.edu/marxists/histor ... n/ch04.htm

I'm thinking they might have changed their copyright law prior to GATT/TRIPS...

[Carolus]

Russia changed the copyright law to a life-plus-50 term in 1994. It was applied retroactively. That was the law that was already in place upon the effective date of GATT/TRIPs - 1/1/96. The USSR had made some changes in 1973 when they signed the UCC Treaty as well.