The Theoretical Conceptualization of Problems Arising when a Work Becomes Public

The article is devoted to the theoretical conceptualization of problems that arise when a work of art is transferred to the public domain. The author investigates conflicts between the content of international and national legislation in this field. In the author’s view, narrowing the range of copyright protection objects in Russia is unreasonable by nature, in particular, it concerns the derivative ideas and methods. A comparative analysis of legal concept of "public domain" is carried out. It is noted that when the legal regulation of transferring the work into the public domain occurs, one can diagnose the syndrome of softening law, because expanding the freedom of individuals’ actions is built not only on legal acts, but also on social (religious, family and other) customs of different countries. The author points out that before the Berne Convention’s entry into force, the status of a work of art having become public was regulated in different ways in states that later expressed their consent to be bound by this convention. The lack of harmonization in the field of legal regulation a work transferring into the public domain is also observed now. The conclusion is drawn that the transfer of a work into the public domain as a phenomenon of legal reality is characterized by a number of problems, both doctrinal and applied, and primarily in the aspect of cross-border judicial protection of such works, as well as harmonization of the relevant legal regulation.