Skip to main content

View Post [edit]

Poster: chinesehaxor Date: Jan 13, 2007 9:17pm
Forum: feature_films Subject: Film Request-Rashomon & Ikiru

Rashomon and Ikiru are now in the public domain as well as all of Akira Kurosawa's films prior to 1953. Can anyone post them? Here is one news link about these films being in the public domain, though there are many more out there:
http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/japanese%20court%20rules%20pre-1953%20movies%20in%20public%20domain_1002318

Reply [edit]

Poster: k-otic Date: Jan 14, 2007 2:32am
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Film Request-Rashomon & Ikiru

does that mean that ALL japanese movies that were made prior to 1953 are in the public domain or just the work of Akira Kurosawa ?
can some one provide us with a list of titles that fall under this "law"
i do have some early japanese titles in my collection like
Yasujiro Ozu - Late Spring (1949)
Rashomon (1950)
Ikiru - Living (1952)
Sugata sanshiro - The Judo Saga (1943)
(just a few that pops into my mind)
i`ve read the same news last year on the internet movie data base side
http://www.imdb.com/news/sb/2006-07-12
so is it okay to upload those title to the archive or is it safer not to ?

Reply [edit]

Poster: ARossi Date: Jan 16, 2007 4:28pm
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Film Request-Rashomon & Ikiru

Do we have any idea how reliable the news source is (Studio Briefing)?

There appears to have been an article about this in the San Jose Mercury News in June of last year, so it seems legit...

Alexis

Reply [edit]

Poster: Pruss Date: Oct 9, 2007 6:28pm
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Film Request-Rashomon & Ikiru

This means that they're in the public domain in Japan. Does it follow automatically that they are in the public domain in the U.S.? It looks to me (who am far from being a lawyer) from the discussion in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_the_shorter_term that longer U.S. copyright terms will supercede the Japanese ones in the U.S. for works whose copyright was duly renewed in the U.S.

If so, then only if the copyright was NOT renewed in the U.S. are the works going to be in the public domain in the U.S.

Reply [edit]

Poster: SpaceFan Date: Aug 22, 2007 9:35am
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Film Request-Rashomon & Ikiru

I just upped Ikiru (to live): http://www.archive.org/details/Ikiru1952 and Nora inu (Stray Dog) http://www.archive.org/details/Nora_inu
This post was modified by SpaceFan on 2007-08-22 16:35:03

Reply [edit]

Poster: Pruss Date: Oct 8, 2007 4:44pm
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Film Request-Rashomon & Ikiru

I am a bit worried about the subtitles for Ikiru and Stray Dog. Are they perhaps from the Criterion edition? The Criterion editions of these two films have new subtitles, which should be copyrighted.

Reply [edit]

Poster: k-otic Date: Jan 17, 2007 2:11am
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Film Request-Rashomon & Ikiru

so is this a "yes"?
sounds more like a "maybe" :)

Reply [edit]

Poster: chinesehaxor Date: Jan 20, 2007 9:06pm
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Film Request-Rashomon & Ikiru

http://www.asialaw.com/default.asp?Page=20&PUB=68&ISS0=22744&SID=658339
This is a link to a site corroborating the other reports that Japanese films released prior to 1953 are in the public domain. However this link describes the controversies of a film, "Roman Holiday" which was released in 1953.

Here is an update on the case:
http://www.harakenzo.com/cgi-bin/newsmnt/article.cgi?lang=e&id=00419

Remember too that it might only be the Japanese release of Rashomon that is in the public domain- someone could add their own subtitles, but if Paramount released a version with subtitles in America, it may still be copyright under US law.

All films published in Japan from 2004 and onwards will have a protection of 70 years. For anything that was published before 1953, it would be Public Domain.

I am still looking for more links to describe Japan's copyright policy. Any help would be appreciated.

Reply [edit]

Poster: chinesehaxor Date: Jan 22, 2007 12:38am
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Film Request-Rashomon & Ikiru

Another link corroborating the above; this time it's about the movie "Shane".

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200610060338.html

Reply [edit]

Poster: k-otic Date: Aug 24, 2007 5:19am
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Film Request-Rashomon & Ikiru

mmhh strange, it was made pre 1953 so normally it`s public doamin
http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/japanese%20court%20rules%20pre-1953%20movies%20in%20public%20domain_1002318

Reply [edit]

Poster: jonc Date: Feb 12, 2007 8:24am
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Film Request-Rashomon & Ikiru - Shane?

More info on Shane from the University of Washington CASRIP (Center for Advanced Study and Research on Intellectual Property) newsletter:

http://www.law.washington.edu/Casrip/Newsletter/Vol14/newsv14i1Mitani.html

"Shane is under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Copyright Law."

Amazing that a classic like this would sneak into the public domain. Anyone going to upload it?

Reply [edit]

Poster: SpaceFan Date: Aug 22, 2007 8:52pm
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Film Request-Rashomon & Ikiru - Shane?

uploading now :) http://www.archive.org/details/shane1952
This post was modified by SpaceFan on 2007-08-23 03:52:49

Reply [edit]

Poster: Rick Prelinger Date: Aug 25, 2007 7:03am
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Film Request-Rashomon & Ikiru - Shane?

I quote from the Washington University intellectual property newsletter referenced above:

"But, because the United States and Japan are both members of the Berne Convention, in Japan, Shane is under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Copyright Law."

The key words are: "in Japan." Whether or not it is PD in Japan does not make it PD in the United States.

In addition, the underlying literary work has been renewed. From the Stanford copyright renewal database:

itle Shane
Author Jack Schaefer
Registration Date 14Oct49
Renewal Date 26Oct76
Registration Number A37550
Renewal Id R645523
Renewing Entity Jack Schaefer (A)

Rick

Reply [edit]

Poster: ARossi Date: Jan 23, 2007 11:25am
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Film Request-Rashomon & Ikiru

Well, it is a maybe. It's always a maybe, because this stuff is so confusing and I don't know anything more about it than you do.

There seems to be a decent amount of material out there backing this up, though, so we could certainly give it a try. If you'd like to to upload some stuff, that would be great.

Alexis

Reply [edit]

Poster: olgaritmo Date: Feb 22, 2007 3:55pm
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Film Request-Rashomon & Ikiru

please post some ozu silent movie... the fact that sanshiro sugata 1 and 2 and other pre 1953 japanese full movies are available on video google public domain stuff should be plain evidence that such a permission is not a "maybe"...

Thanks

olga ritmo