Other Non-Fiction Malmström, Vincent H.: Cycles of the Sun, Mysteries of the Moon. v1, 28 Oct 2008

[Peto]

For whoever might be interested in calendars and their influence in Meso-American cultures, I found this nice piece of work here:

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~izapa/index.html

The author is Vincent H. Malmström. And he has made his book freely available online.

I just put all the chapters together, enclosed the images and added a TOC.

This work is in the Canadian public domain OR the copyright holder has given specific permission for distribution. It may still be under copyright in some countries. If you live outside Canada, check your country's copyright laws. If the book is under copyright in your country, do not download or redistribute this work.

To report a copyright violation you can contact us here.

[HarryT]

Two issues:

1. I've re-named the thread to follow the correct naming convention. The book doesn't get properly indexed unless the thread title is correct.

2. Please can you confirm that you have to author's permission to post here. The fact that something is freely available on the web doesn't automatically mean that it can be re-posted. I've "unapproved" the attachment until you can confirm that you have posting permission.

Thanks,

[Moderator]

[Peto]

Yeah. I realized the moment I pressed "post reply". Sorry.

No. I have no permission whatsoever. I just looked the page through for any explicit limitation of diffusion of the contents and found none. I didn't find any contact info either so I cannot even ask. That is why I added the source link, so you could check and decide whether it is ok or not.

If it is not, then maybe we should create a parallel index with links to books displayed in this way, so everybody has access and can edit these books on their own. Maybe this book cannot be posted, but the link sure can.

[HarryT]

No problem at all to post the link - that's fine. Sorry, but we have to be careful about these things.

[Patricia]

Originally Posted by Peto

... maybe we should create a parallel index with links to books displayed in this way, so everybody has access and can edit these books on their own. Maybe this book cannot be posted, but the link sure can.

Peto, we have a place to share such useful links. Start a thread in the Deals and Freebies section of the forum.

There is an author's email address: [Edited to add: I removed the email address when Peto had seen it, because I don't want to cause the author to receive unnecessary spam. It was up for about half an hour.]

It was hidden at the bottom of one of the pages. So you could ask for his permission. If he is gracious enough to allow it then we would be very pleased to have the book.

[Peto]

Sorry, I was searching the Dartmouth College page. Found Prof. Malmström's mail there, asked for permission and sent him a copy of the PDF, along with a link to the uploads page. Now we have to wait, uh?

As for the freebies section, Wouldn't it be better to create a thread for all free books just like there is one for all uploaded books?

[Peto]

Now that we are at it, I wrote a CF book some years ago and have distributed it freely in Spain. Some 100 people have read it and the opinions are good (most of them are friends so you should subtract a couple of points of the average mark ). I have a copyright here, but I don't mind people reading it from my hometown to China. What I wouldn't want is some smart guy to use the idea for making a movie or whatever. I know it sounds a little pretentious, but how do I protect myself on that?

And how do I prove you I am the actual writer of the story?

[Patricia]

I can see you point about a deals and freebies index, Peto. But it would be a real trouble to administer. Unlike the Book uploads index, the freebies often expire. They are available in a host of formats and restrictions. Cataloguing them, and keeping the list accurate, would be a nightmare.

Thanks for contacting the author. It looks like a very interesting book.

[Patricia]

Originally Posted by Peto

Now that we are at it, I wrote a CF book some years ago and have distributed it freely in Spain. Some 100 people have read it and the opinions are good (most of them are friends so you should subtract a couple of points of the average mark ). I have a copyright here, but I don't mind people reading it from my hometown to China. What I wouldn't want is some smart guy to use the idea for making a movie or whatever. I know it sounds a little pretentious, but how do I protect myself on that?

And how do I prove you I am the actual writer of the story?

I think that we'd believe it's your work. One has to take some things on trust. If you want to upload it then add a copyright notice.

"(c) yourname" should do.
Add, "All rights reserved" if you like.

[Peto]

Originally Posted by Patricia

I think that we'd believe it's your work. One has to take some things on trust. If you want to upload it then add a copyright notice.

"(c) yourname" should do.
Add, "All rights reserved" if you like.

Just like that? And why did I need to register it here?

[HarryT]

Peto,

When you write something you automatically have a copyright on that work. You don't need to do anything, but you can, if you wish, add a copyright notice. It's entirely optional, though.

[dhbailey]

And every jurisdiction has different copyright laws, so the inclusion of the notice is a good idea so that some obscure country can't claim it's in the public domain since there is no notice.

Also, registering the copyright in your country's central copyright office is a good idea when you put it out to the public because in some countries such as the USA, if you have not registered the work you are limited in the amount of damages you can collect. Also registration is proof positive of the date of existence should you ever need to take someone to court for stealing your material.

Remember that ideas cannot be copyrighted (neither can titles nor character names), so basic plot structures can't be copyrighted, just the way that you flesh it out in your particular work, so registering your work gives you stronger proof of just what is your material that is being infringed.

[Peto]

Ok, thanks.

Well, there it goes and to hell with it. Gotta be coherent with my "Omnia sunt Communia" motto.

[Peto]

Originally Posted by Patricia

I can see you point about a deals and freebies index, Peto. But it would be a real trouble to administer. Unlike the Book uploads index, the freebies often expire. They are available in a host of formats and restrictions. Cataloguing them, and keeping the list accurate, would be a nightmare.

Thanks for contacting the author. It looks like a very interesting book.

Prof. Malmström kindly answered. He does not own the copyright. The owner is University Texas Press. I asked them and am waiting for some reply.