Mitchell, Margaret: Gone With the Wind. v1. 9 May 07

[HarryT]

It's a much overused phrase, but Margaret Mitchell's "blockbuster" novel of 1936 really does "need no introduction". It relates the story of a rebellious Georgia Southern belle named Scarlett O'Hara and her experiences with friends, family, lovers, and enemies in the South before, during, and after the American civil war.

Enjoy!

EDIT: 12th May 07

Temporarily removed the attachment while we decide what to do about it. Apparently the US copyright holders are a bit "aggressive" about this particular book. Sorry, folks.

[dhbailey]

And this should only be downloaded by people who have purchased paper copies because it is very much still in copyright.

[ashkulz]

Originally Posted by dhbailey

And this should only be downloaded by people who have purchased paper copies because it is very much still in copyright.

Actually, it also depends on where you live. If you live outside the US, you can legally read the PG Australia version, which I believe is the source for this book.

[HarryT]

That is correct. Like many of the books in this collection, it is in copyright in the US, but out of copyright in Australia. If one is concerned about such things, one should always check the copyright status before downloading.

Everything in this sub-forum is out of copyright somewhere, but that "somewhere" doesn't necessarily mean it's out of copyright where you live.

[dhbailey]

What sort of liability does it make for the owners of this forum for it to be posted here?

[HarryT]

Our policy is that, in the event of the US copyright holder requesting its removal, it would be removed. Since, however, anyone who wants it can trivially download it for themselves from PG Australia, that is vanishingly unlikely to occur. There's a major difference, practically speaking, between posting a modern book which is in copyright everywhere, and posting an old one like this which, due to differences in copyright law in different countries, is in copyright in some places in the world, and out of copyright in other places.

Technically speaking, this book should not be downloaded by people in the US, just like many of the other books here which were published after 1923. That's the responsibility of the downloader. In the same way I, living in the UK, should not download those "Agatha Christie" books which are on "Project Gutenberg" because, although they are out in copyright in the US, they are still in copyright in the UK. It's my responsibility not to do that, not PG's.

[scottcstoness]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Our policy is that, in the event of the US copyright holder requesting its removal, it would be removed. Since, however, anyone who wants it can trivially download it for themselves from PG Australia, that is vanishingly unlikely to occur. There's a major difference, practically speaking, between posting a modern book which is in copyright everywhere, and posting an old one like this which, due to differences in copyright law in different countries, is in copyright in some places in the world, and out of copyright in other places.

Technically speaking, this book should not be downloaded by people in the US, just like many of the other books here which were published after 1923. That's the responsibility of the downloader. In the same way I, living in the UK, should not download those "Agatha Christie" books which are on "Project Gutenberg" because, although they are out in copyright in the US, they are still in copyright in the UK. It's my responsibility not to do that, not PG's.

Perhaps it would help users decide (and help MR with any potential liability issues (however vanishingly small)) if the title-bar for each story included the country in which it is out of copyright as well if that is known (e.g. US-only or AUS-only added to the title line of the thread).

ScS

[HarryT]

Trouble is, we have users from all over the world, and who knows the copyright laws in all those countries except the people who live in those countries? Most books there's no issue with (eg Dickens is out of copyright everywhere, AFAIK). It's really only 20th century authors that there may be issues with.

The best anyone can do in those circumstances is to say when the book was published, and when the author died, and let each downloader then make up their own mind whether or not it's "legit" for them to download that book.

Honestly, though, if a book is in any of the major public domain book collections, nobody going to get sued for putting in on a web server. It would be different if you downloaded "Gone With the Wind", and then started trying to sell it in the US, but nobody's going to be foolish enough to do that, I trust . If a book is freely available, it's freely available - that's the practical situation. The most that any copyright holder is going to do, in cases where no money is changing hands, is request that it be removed and, as I said in an earlier message, Alex (the system owner) has a policy of immediately complying with such requests, so there's really no problem here.

"Don't ask, don't tell" is the best practical policy to follow. The books we upload here can all be legitimately downloaded by people in some part of the world or another.

[benn600]

That's too bad...I would SURE like a copy of that book to read on my Reader when I get it in a few days.