“ Some other Wikisources and some other Wikimedia projects choose to respect non-United States copyright law. English Wikisource does not. Respecting just one set of copyright laws is the simplest system possible and even this can be very complicated at times.
Non-United States publications The rules about non-United States publications can get complicated.
Some works may be in the public domain in the United States even if they are still under copyright in their home countries. Other works may be in the public domain in their home countries but still under copyright in the United States. ”