IMSLP Forums

The fluctuation in status of Medtner's works from Op 47 onwards is confusing. Whether or not they are PD in the US depends on whether the publisher (mainly but not exclusively Zimmermann) renewed copyright in the 28th year. The editors appear to taken the view that all works republished by Dover plus various others (Opp 39, 43, 44, 54 and all the songs) are PD but others (Opp 47, 50, 55, 57-60 and the piano quintet) are not. Did the reviewers establish that copyright was renewed for the latter group, or are they being precautionary in the absence of proof either way? I understand that the only way to establish the status beyond doubt is to conduct a manual search in the US Copyright Office.

Precautionaary, I think.

It is precautionary and dependent upon where an item was first published. If it was first published by Zimmermann in the west after 1922, we consider it to be protected in the USA for a full 95-year term unless we have evidence to the contrary (like the item being reprinted by Dover, Kalmus, etc.). If the item was first published in the USSR, the odds are greater that it is free in the USA since Russia's 70pma term applies only to composers who died after 1952. Again, if the item has been reprinted (and still available from) by Dover, et al, we consider the availability of a reprint as evidence that the work is most likely PD in the USA.