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What does it mean, then, to lawfully share out-of-copyright content on the web? Should we wait until the content is out of copyright according to the laws of every last country on Earth? This would clash with the principle, stated above, that the public’s right to access public domain works should not be limited beyond what a given legislation already does. Should we consider it enough for the copyright term to have expired in the country where the website is based, even though the location of the servers or the legal registration may be immaterial as far as the location of the audience is concerned? This would expose the site to the risk of being considered a pirate website, and therefore being blocked, in counties that have a longer copyright term.<ref>The website of {{plainlink|[http://gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg]}}, for example, is currently inaccessible in Italy and, for a limited period of time, it was inaccessible in Germany: the site was blocked by local authorities because, among many others, it featured works that were in the public domain in the United States but not in Europe.</ref>
What does it mean, then, to lawfully share out-of-copyright content on the web? Should we wait until the content is out of copyright according to the laws of every last country on Earth? This would clash with the principle, stated above, that the public’s right to access public domain works should not be limited beyond what a given legislation already does. Should we consider it enough for the copyright term to have expired in the country where the website is based, even though the location of the servers or the legal registration may be immaterial as far as the location of the audience is concerned? This would expose the site to the risk of being considered a pirate website, and therefore being blocked, in counties that have a longer copyright term.<ref>The website of {{plainlink|[http://gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg]}}, for example, is currently inaccessible in Italy and, for a limited period of time, it was inaccessible in Germany: the site was blocked by local authorities because, among many others, it featured works that were in the public domain in the United States but not in Europe.</ref>


There is no definite answer to this question, precisely because there is no international treaty with provisions that take into account the contemporary state of information technology. A viable solution, however, is that of respecting two requirements while publishing works on the internet: for them to be in the public domain, or at least (with reference to the relevant cases, the difference will be discussed in § The copyright status of Wittgenstein’s individual works) legally reusable ''in the country where the website is located and in their country of origin''.
There is no definite answer to this question, precisely because there is no international treaty with provisions that take into account the contemporary state of information technology. A viable solution, however, is that of respecting two requirements while publishing works on the internet: for them to be in the public domain, or at least reusable (with reference to the relevant cases, the difference will be discussed in [[#The copyright status of Wittgenstein’s individual works|§ The copyright status of Wittgenstein’s individual works]]) ''in the country where the website is located and in their country of origin''.


This is, for example, the policy of Wikimedia projects,<ref>For a rich overview of the policy adopted on Wikimedia Commons, the Wikimedia repository of images, scanned texts and other multimedia files, see the {{plainlink|[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Copyright_rules_by_territory Copyright rules by territory] page.}}</ref> which have earned a very respectable position among those who are trying to challenge the traditional closed culture system while abiding by its rules.
This is, for example, the policy of the {{plainlink|[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation#Wikimedia_projects Wikimedia projects]}},<ref>For a rich overview of the policy adopted on Wikimedia Commons, the Wikimedia repository of images, scanned texts and other multimedia files, see the {{plainlink|[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Copyright_rules_by_territory Copyright rules by territory] page.}}</ref> which have earned a very respectable position among those who are trying to challenge the traditional closed culture system while abiding by its rules.


The notion of “country of origin” is a traditional concept that is defined by the Berne Convention itself. Even though its application is not always obvious when a work is first published in a digital format, for it may then be considered to be simultaneously published throughout the world,<ref name="lawexplores">Brian Fitzgerald, Sampsung Xiaoxiang Shi, Cheryl Foong, and Kylie Pappalardo, “{{plainlink|[https://lawexplores.com/country-of-origin-and-internet-publication-applying-the-berne-convention-in-the-digital-age/ Country of Origin and Internet Publication: Applying the Berne Convention in the Digital Age]}}”, in Brian Fitzgerald and John Gilchrist (eds.), ''Copyright Perspectives'', Springer 2015.</ref> determining the country of origin of a work that was first published in print is rather straightforward:
The notion of “country of origin” is a traditional concept that is defined by the Berne Convention itself. Even though its application is not always obvious when a work is first published in a digital format, for it may then be considered to be simultaneously published throughout the world,<ref name="lawexplores">Brian Fitzgerald, Sampsung Xiaoxiang Shi, Cheryl Foong, and Kylie Pappalardo, “{{plainlink|[https://lawexplores.com/country-of-origin-and-internet-publication-applying-the-berne-convention-in-the-digital-age/ Country of Origin and Internet Publication: Applying the Berne Convention in the Digital Age]}}”, in Brian Fitzgerald and John Gilchrist (eds.), ''Copyright Perspectives'', Springer 2015.</ref> determining the country of origin of a work that was first published in print is rather straightforward:
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The question should then be answered: what does it mean for a website to be located in a certain country? The question is rather complex for high-traffic sites which, to better serve requests, have servers in many locations and for sites which are operated by multinational companies; it is, however, quite simple in the case of the Ludwig Wittgenstein Project, since our servers are located in Italy and the owner of the website is both Italian and based in Italy. The Ludwig Wittgenstein Project therefore operates under Italian laws and European Union regulations.
The question should then be answered: what does it mean for a website to be located in a certain country? The question is rather complex for high-traffic sites which, to better serve requests, have servers in many locations and for sites which are operated by multinational companies; it is, however, quite simple in the case of the Ludwig Wittgenstein Project, since our servers are located in Italy and the owner of the website is both Italian and based in Italy. The Ludwig Wittgenstein Project therefore operates under Italian laws and European Union regulations.


Finally, it should be noted that the policy according to which the Ludwig Wittgenstein Project only publishes works that are free in their country of origin and in Italy, in spite of adhering to a widely accepted best practice, does not of itself solve the problem posed by the fact that some of the texts that are available on our site are not in the public domain in some countries, for example the United States. It is the reader’s responsibility to comply with the laws of their country by making sure that a given work is in the public domain there before accessing it or downloading it. Still, nothing would prevent a country where some of the materials that we publish are not in the public domain, for example the US, from blocking access to our site for users located within its territory.
Finally, it should be noted that the policy according to which the Ludwig Wittgenstein Project only publishes works that are free in their country of origin and in Italy, in spite of adhering to a widely accepted best practice, does not of itself solve the problem posed by the fact that some of the texts that are available on our site are not in the public domain in some countries, for example Mexico, where the copyright term is 100 years P.M.A. It is the reader’s responsibility to comply with the laws of their country by making sure that a given work is in the public domain there before accessing it or downloading it. Still, nothing would prevent a country where some of the materials that we publish are not in the public domain, for example Mexico, from blocking access to the Ludwig Wittgenstein Project’s site for users located within its territory.


== The Creative Commons licences ==
== The Creative Commons licences ==
Before moving on, it is now appropriate to provide a very short introduction to Creative Commons Licences. This is for three reasons:
Before moving on, it is now appropriate to provide a very short introduction to Creative Commons Licences. This is for three reasons:


* as was claimed in the previous section of this essay, they are probably the most meaningful innovation in the field of intellectual property since the advent of the internet;
* as it was claimed in the previous section of this essay, they are probably the most meaningful innovation in the field of intellectual property since the advent of the internet;
* as we will see in the last section of this essay (see [[#The copyright status of Wittgenstein’s individual works|§ The copyright status of Wittgenstein’s individual works]]), some of Wittgenstein’s works have been released by their copyright holders under the terms of Creative Commons licences;
* as we will see in the last section of this essay (see [[#The copyright status of Wittgenstein’s individual works|§ The copyright status of Wittgenstein’s individual works]]), some of Wittgenstein’s works have been released by their copyright holders under the terms of Creative Commons licences;
* the Ludwig Wittgenstein Project releases all its original content under Creative Commons licences.
* the Ludwig Wittgenstein Project releases all its original content under Creative Commons licences.


Creative Commons licences provide a simple solution for creators to publish their works under terms that, on the one hand, allow others to use them for free and, on the other hand, require the party who uses the content to meet a variable set of conditions, based on the creator’s own choice. Their introduction was prompted by the realisation that, with the advent of the internet, an increasing number of people would be happy to publish their creative works outside of a commercial logic, i.e., without the hope or even the intention of making money out of their sale, but would still want to reserve some rights.
Creative Commons licences provide a simple solution for creators to publish their works under terms that, on the one hand, allow others to use them for free and, on the other hand, require the party who uses the content to meet a variable set of conditions, based on the creator’s own choice. Their introduction was prompted by the realisation that, given the ease of sharing texts, pictures and multimedia files brought about by the web, an increasing number of people would be happy to publish their creative works outside of a commercial logic, i.e., without the hope or even the intention of making money out of their sale, but would still want to reserve some rights.


Devised by a team of legal experts led by Lawrence Lessig and first released in 2002, the six Creative Commons licences are based on the recognition of three freedoms and four constraints.<ref>{{plainlink|[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Creative Commons Licenses]}}</ref> The three freedoms are:
Devised by a team of legal experts led by Lawrence Lessig and first released in 2002, the six Creative Commons licences are based on the recognition of three freedoms and four constraints.<ref>{{plainlink|[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Creative Commons Licenses]}}</ref> The three freedoms are:
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The four constraints are:
The four constraints are:


* the duty to ''attribute'' the work, that is, to cite the author or authors;
* the requirement to ''attribute'' the work, that is, to cite the author or authors;
* the duty to ''share derivative works'', if any, ''under the same licence as the original'';
* the requirement to ''share derivative works'', if any, ''under the same licence as the original'';
* the prohibition to ''sell'' the work or a work derived from it, or otherwise use it commercially;
* the prohibition to ''sell'' the work or a work derived from it, or otherwise use it commercially;
* the prohibition to ''remix'' the work, meaning that no works can be derived from it.
* the prohibition to ''remix'' the work, meaning that no works can be derived from it.


The combinations of these freedoms and constraints generate the six licences, listed below in order from the “most free” to the “least free”:
The combinations of these freedoms and constraints generate the six licences, listed below from the “most free” to the “least free”:


* Creative Commons Zero (CC0): a waiver equivalent to the public domain, where the author grants permission to use the work for all purposes without any limitations, not even requiring attribution; it should be noted that CC0 is not a licence in a strict sense, but is rather referred to as a “tool” for relinquishing one’s rights;
* Creative Commons Zero (CC0): a waiver equivalent to the public domain, where the author grants permission to use the work for all purposes without any limitations, not even requiring attribution; it should be noted that CC0 is not strictly speaking a licence, but is rather referred to as a “tool” for relinquishing one’s rights;
* Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY): the work can be used for all purposes, but the author must be credited;
* Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY): the work can be used for all purposes, but the author must be credited;
* Creative Commons Attribution – ShareAlike (CC BY-SA): the work can be used for all purposes, but the author must be credited and derivative works, if any, must also be licenced under CC BY-SA;
* Creative Commons Attribution – ShareAlike (CC BY-SA): the work can be used for all purposes, but the author must be credited and derivative works, if any, must also be licenced under CC BY-SA;
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== The copyright status of Wittgenstein’s individual works ==
== The copyright status of Wittgenstein’s individual works ==
In this section, we will apply the concepts described above in order to clarify the copyright status of Wittgenstein’s works. We will limit ourselves to those that have been published on the Ludwig Wittgenstein Project’s website or might be in the short-to-medium term, thereby excluding those texts where the editors may have to be counted as co-authors.
In this section, we will apply the concepts described above in order to clarify the copyright status of Wittgenstein’s works. We will limit ourselves to those that have been published on the Ludwig Wittgenstein Project’s website<!-- or might be in the short-to-medium term-->, thereby excluding those texts where the editors may have to be counted as co-authors.


For each work, the copyright status in the country of origin and in Italy will be described and explained. What is written about Italy can be considered to be valid for all countries where, as a general rule, copyright exires 70 years or fewer P.M.A.; however, since local exceptions may exist, generalisation should be done, so to speak, at one’s own risk. Occasionally, the copyright status in the United States will be discussed, as the US, despite not playing any special role from the point of view of the Ludwig Wittgenstein Project, are certainly, to this day, the centre of gravity of the web.
For each work, the copyright status in the country of origin and in Italy will be described and explained. What is written about Italy can be considered to be valid for all countries where, as a general rule, copyright exires 70 years or fewer P.M.A.; however, since local exceptions may exist, generalisations should be made, so to speak, at one’s own risk. Occasionally, the copyright status in the United States will be discussed, as the US, despite not playing any special role from the point of view of the Ludwig Wittgenstein Project, are certainly, to this day, the centre of gravity of the web.


The information is valid and up to date in July 2022. Copyrights that are still standing will gradually expire in the coming years and decades.
The information is valid and up to date in July 2022. Copyrights that are still standing will gradually expire in the coming years and decades.
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The ''Review of P. Coffey, “The Science of Logic”'' was first published in the British journal ''The Cambridge Review'', vol. 34, no. 853, 6 Mar. 1913, p. 351.
The ''Review of P. Coffey, “The Science of Logic”'' was first published in the British journal ''The Cambridge Review'', vol. 34, no. 853, 6 Mar. 1913, p. 351.


Its country of origin is the United Kingdom. This work is in the public domain there because the copyright term for literary works in the UK is 70 years P.M.A. and the author died before 1952.
Its country of origin is the United Kingdom. This work is in the public domain there, as well as in Italy, because the copyright term for literary works in both countries is 70 years P.M.A. and the author died before 1952.
 
This work is in the public domain in Italy because the copyright term for literary works in Italy is 70 years P.M.A. and the author died before 1952.


Additionally, it is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in 1913 and everything that was published before 1 January 1927 is now in the public domain in the US.
Additionally, it is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in 1913 and everything that was published before 1 January 1927 is now in the public domain in the US.
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Their country of origin is the United Kingdom. These works are in the public domain there, as well as in Italy, because the copyright term for literary works in both countries is 70 years P.M.A. and the author died before 1952.
Their country of origin is the United Kingdom. These works are in the public domain there, as well as in Italy, because the copyright term for literary works in both countries is 70 years P.M.A. and the author died before 1952.


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[14] <nowiki>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/copyright-notice-duration-of-copyright-term/copyright-notice-duration-of-copyright-term</nowiki>
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