In some countries, the publication of a public-domain work may create a copyright-like protection if it is either

• the first publication of a previously unpublished work, or
• a scholarly edition which differs substantially from previous editions
  

Article 4 of the European Union Directive 2006/116/EC grants a term of 25 years "from the time when the work was first lawfully published or lawfully communicated to the public" for previously unpublished works. Article 5 grants a maximum term of 30 years for "critical and scientific publications of works which have come into the public domain". However, some countries (e.g. Germany) also have only a term of 25 years for the latter.

This template should only be used in conjunction with a template indicating the status of the original work such as {{PD-old-70}}.

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