User talk:Sherurcij

Copyright on letters

Hi! Glad to see that you've taken an interest in Wikisource! I'm not an expert on copyright law, but you do pick some stuff up working on this project. You say they are more than 50 years ago. Does this mean that anything was written before 1923? If that is the case, then they are by definition in the public domain. If they were written after 1923, were any of these letters written by government officials in the duty of their job (i.e., were the letters written for a government-related duty)? If they were, then they are also in the public domain. Otherwise, I believe the letters could still be protected under copyright (although there is a possibility they are in the public domain--it's just very difficult to find out), and I would err on the side of caution and refrain from posting them here unless their PD status can be maintained. I hope this helps! Zhaladshar 21:43, 6 Jun 2005 (UTC)

P.S. Wikisource:Copyright deals with copyright issues that might be able to answer your questions (although it's not very well developed and much is lacking). Zhaladshar 21:44, 6 Jun 2005 (UTC)