Determine the copyright status of a self-translated foreign literary work based on publication and author death dates | Step-by-Step Solution

Understanding Copyright Status for Self-Translated Works

What We're Solving: You want to determine whether you can legally use your own translation of Fernando Pessoa's "The Book of Disquiet" without copyright concerns. This involves understanding international copyright law and how it applies to both original works and translations.

The Approach: Copyright law can be systematically broken down by examining two separate copyright considerations: the original work's copyright status and the translation rights.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Step 1: Determine the Original Work's Copyright Status First, let's establish the key facts about Pessoa and his work:

• Fernando Pessoa died in 1935
• "The Book of Disquiet" was published posthumously
• Most countries follow the "life + 70 years" rule for copyright

Since 1935 + 70 = 2005, the original Portuguese text entered the public domain in most countries by 2005. This means the original work is no longer under copyright protection.

Step 2: Understand Translation Rights When you create your own translation of a public domain work, you're creating what's called a "derivative work." Since the original is in the public domain, you have every right to translate it yourself!

Step 3: Consider Your Translation's Copyright Your translation actually gets its own copyright protection! While you can't claim ownership of Pessoa's original ideas and text, your specific English translation choices, word selections, and interpretative decisions are your intellectual property.

Step 4: Check for Existing Translation Copyrights This is crucial: while you can freely translate the original Portuguese, you cannot copy or closely imitate existing English translations that are still under copyright. Each translator's work is separately protected.

The Answer: You're in the clear! Since Pessoa died in 1935 and the original work is in the public domain, you can absolutely create and use your own translation. Just ensure you're working from the original Portuguese text, not copying another translator's English version.

Memory Tip: Think "Original free = Translation free to make" - when the original work is in the public domain, you're free to create your own translation, but remember that other people's translations are still their copyrighted work!

This is a wonderful example of how public domain works benefit everyone by allowing new creative interpretations of classic literature. Your translation could offer readers a fresh perspective on Pessoa's masterpiece!