Ghost and Mrs. Muir

[Ripplinger]

Copyright laws make my head hurt. In reading through it all, it's mentioned in many places that this is for works published on or after 1978. So what does that mean for books published prior to that time, is it still under the 50 years after the author's death in that case? I know the book was published in 1942, Macardle died in 1958 (which is why I originally thought it was in the public domain, also ran across a podcast of the book stating the same).

Edit: I found my own answer from http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm

Date of Publication:
From 1 March 1989 through 2002

Conditions:
Created before 1978 and first published in this period

Copyright Term:
The greater of the term specified in the previous entry or 31 December 2047*

*The previous entry dealt with books after 1977 so pretty sure it doesn't apply, at least hopeful that it doesn't apply.

While I'm all for supporting author's works, under these terms it might be pretty difficult to keep such older works that aren't considered true classics available for anyone to read. Ebook format gives us such a great opportunity to be able to preserve all books for future generations, but my fear is we'll end up losing a lot of these older books before they can be made available.

[dandelioncottage]

I love "The Uninvited."

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

I recently scanned a library copy of "The Uninvited" by Dorothy Macardle, which the 1944 movie with Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey and Gail Russel is based on. The basic plot is the same between the movie and book, but the book has many more characters than the movie, so it's definitely worth the read even if you've seen the movie. I thought it would be out of copyright, but now that it's 70 years, I'm pretty sure it's not. Otherwise I'd upload it here.

[BenG]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

Copyright laws make my head hurt. In reading through it all, it's mentioned in many places that this is for works published on or after 1978. So what does that mean for books published prior to that time, is it still under the 50 years after the author's death in that case? I know the book was published in 1942, Macardle died in 1958 (which is why I originally thought it was in the public domain, also ran across a podcast of the book stating the same).

Mobileread's servers are also in Canada so you should be OK to upload it, given that information.

[morriss003]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

I had no idea that it was a book! I know it only as a movie and TV show.

I enjoyed both.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by BenG

Mobileread's servers are also in Canada so you should be OK to upload it, given that information.

I'd love to upload it here and make it available if that's really the case. I seem to recall asking once before though and was told no, so I want to be sure I wouldn't be violating any rules here.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

I recently scanned a library copy of "The Uninvited" by Dorothy Macardle, which the 1944 movie with Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey and Gail Russel is based on. The basic plot is the same between the movie and book, but the book has many more characters than the movie, so it's definitely worth the read even if you've seen the movie. I thought it would be out of copyright, but now that it's 70 years, I'm pretty sure it's not. Otherwise I'd upload it here.

But the "Ghost and Mrs. Muir" is another favorite old movie, and I might be tempted to scan it at some point and wait for copyrights to run out. I think it's unlikely that any of these older books along these lines will ever be made into ebooks unless fans do it themselves.

Edit: Unlikely unless I find a paperback or cheap hardcover of it, my library doesn't even have the book.

You might be able to find a copy (at least to read) via interlibrary loan. Won't be out of copyright even in life+50 countries til 2029.