Question about copyright/public domain

banjobama · 07-24-2010, 09:46 PM

I have a question about copyright.

I'd like to make some ebooks, mainly H.P. Lovecraft's fiction and Robert E. Howard's Conan/Kull stories. Both of these authors died over 70 years ago, and the length of copyright in the US is the author's life + 70 years, right? So in theory I should be able to compile the stories into ebooks for myself and others to enjoy for free.

I know there is more to it than this, since a couple of Agatha Christie's books are now public domain and she only died in 1976. I also try to use sites like Mobileread, Manybooks.net and PG as barometers of what's allowed and what isn't, since I know I'm not going to be the first one with an idea to make an ebook out of a paper book. Lovecraft has many stories in the public domain but Howard does not seem to.

How can you tell who holds the copyright for stories and how long it lasts? Is there some way to look up that information? I started making the Lovecraft book and worst case scenario I'll just keep it for myself but I'm having fun making it and I'd like to make more but I don't want to waste my time or cause trouble somehow.

carld · 07-24-2010, 09:50 PM

Here's a good link on Public Domain and dates. Basically anything published prior to 1923 is in the Public Domain.

Copyright Terms and the Public Doman

Worldwalker · 07-24-2010, 09:55 PM

Both HPL's and REH's work are now in the public domain. Check Project Gutenberg or your favorite PG-scraping site for their (mostly) complete works.

In the case of REH, this has led to an explosion of REH pbooks from various publishers, with assorted commentary, illustrations, etc. I think I'm collecting three different series of them now, along with my old Frazetta-cover paperbacks. Plus, of course, the ebooks. Can you say "addict"?

banjobama · 07-24-2010, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

Both HPL's and REH's work are now in the public domain. Check Project Gutenberg or your favorite PG-scraping site for their (mostly) complete works.

For Howard I checked PG, Manybooks, and Google books, my usual haunts, and found next to nothing of his. Do you possibly have a link to some stuff?

charleski · 07-24-2010, 11:09 PM

With Lovecraft, the situation is complicated by the fact that many of his works were collaborations. In the U.S.A. the stories Lovecraft wrote with C.M Eddy Jr after 1923 might still be in copyright: The Loved Dead, Under the Pyramids, Ashes, the Ghost Eater and Deaf, Dumb and Blind. One of Eddy's heirs certainly claims so, though for this to be true, the copyright would have had to have been renewed. AFAIK there is no evidence for copyright renewal on any of Lovecraft's works, so any claims by people like Dyer, or, more notoriously, Derleth, are probably spurious.

In the EU the situation is simpler and all works written solely by Lovecraft have been PD since Jan 2008. But those works written with collaborators mostly remain in copyright (Eddy, for instance, only died in 1967).

carld · 07-24-2010, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by banjobama

For Howard I checked PG, Manybooks, and Google books, my usual haunts, and found next to nothing of his. Do you possibly have a link to some stuff?

There's a nice HPL collection here on Mobile Reads. Lovecraft

banjobama · 07-24-2010, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carld

There's a nice HPL collection here on Mobile Reads. Lovecraft

Yeah, I did see that, thank you. I have all the Lovecraft I'm interested in, I just need some Howard. It seems scarce!

susan_cassidy · 07-24-2010, 11:55 PM

One resource is the Stanford web site: http://collections.stanford.edu/copy...e?forward=home.

Worldwalker · 07-25-2010, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by banjobama

For Howard I checked PG, Manybooks, and Google books, my usual haunts, and found next to nothing of his. Do you possibly have a link to some stuff?

http://manybooks.net/authors/howardr.html
http://www.feedbooks.com/author/245
http://www.munseys.com/detail/mode/a...obert_E_Howard

ATDrake · 07-25-2010, 02:20 AM

Dozens of Howard's works are listed at Project Gutenberg Australia, including a long list of Conan stories. His entry says he died 1936, so possibly they were all put up there before he became PD-eligible for Life+70 and no one's really bothered to move them over to regular PG in the 3 years since.

banjobama · 07-25-2010, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

http://manybooks.net/authors/howardr.html
http://www.feedbooks.com/author/245
http://www.munseys.com/detail/mode/a...obert_E_Howard

Wow, don't I look stupid.

I swear I'm not an idiot.

Thank you!!

Jellby · 07-25-2010, 03:52 AM

The Conan stories by Howard are available here, in MobileRead, in mobi and ePUB formats.

07-24-2010, 09:46 PM	#1
banjobama Busy Read'n Posts: 980 Karma: 5039283 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Auburn, WA Device: Pocketbook Touch Lux 5	Question about copyright/public domain I have a question about copyright. I'd like to make some ebooks, mainly H.P. Lovecraft's fiction and Robert E. Howard's Conan/Kull stories. Both of these authors died over 70 years ago, and the length of copyright in the US is the author's life + 70 years, right? So in theory I should be able to compile the stories into ebooks for myself and others to enjoy for free. I know there is more to it than this, since a couple of Agatha Christie's books are now public domain and she only died in 1976. I also try to use sites like Mobileread, Manybooks.net and PG as barometers of what's allowed and what isn't, since I know I'm not going to be the first one with an idea to make an ebook out of a paper book. Lovecraft has many stories in the public domain but Howard does not seem to. How can you tell who holds the copyright for stories and how long it lasts? Is there some way to look up that information? I started making the Lovecraft book and worst case scenario I'll just keep it for myself but I'm having fun making it and I'd like to make more but I don't want to waste my time or cause trouble somehow.

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07-24-2010, 09:50 PM	#2
carld Wizard Posts: 2,698 Karma: 4748723 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Here's a good link on Public Domain and dates. Basically anything published prior to 1923 is in the Public Domain. Copyright Terms and the Public Doman

07-24-2010, 09:55 PM	#3
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	Both HPL's and REH's work are now in the public domain. Check Project Gutenberg or your favorite PG-scraping site for their (mostly) complete works. In the case of REH, this has led to an explosion of REH pbooks from various publishers, with assorted commentary, illustrations, etc. I think I'm collecting three different series of them now, along with my old Frazetta-cover paperbacks. Plus, of course, the ebooks. Can you say "addict"?

07-24-2010, 11:09 PM	#5
charleski Wizard Posts: 1,196 Karma: 1281258 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-505	With Lovecraft, the situation is complicated by the fact that many of his works were collaborations. In the U.S.A. the stories Lovecraft wrote with C.M Eddy Jr after 1923 might still be in copyright: The Loved Dead, Under the Pyramids, Ashes, the Ghost Eater and Deaf, Dumb and Blind. One of Eddy's heirs certainly claims so, though for this to be true, the copyright would have had to have been renewed. AFAIK there is no evidence for copyright renewal on any of Lovecraft's works, so any claims by people like Dyer, or, more notoriously, Derleth, are probably spurious. In the EU the situation is simpler and all works written solely by Lovecraft have been PD since Jan 2008. But those works written with collaborators mostly remain in copyright (Eddy, for instance, only died in 1967).

07-24-2010, 11:55 PM	#8
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	One resource is the Stanford web site: http://collections.stanford.edu/copy...e?forward=home.

07-25-2010, 02:20 AM	#10
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Dozens of Howard's works are listed at Project Gutenberg Australia, including a long list of Conan stories. His entry says he died 1936, so possibly they were all put up there before he became PD-eligible for Life+70 and no one's really bothered to move them over to regular PG in the 3 years since.

07-25-2010, 03:52 AM	#12
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,515 Karma: 18512745 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	The Conan stories by Howard are available here, in MobileRead, in mobi and ePUB formats.

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