Can someone tell me how I would know if an author whose books I want to download are deemed to be legally downloadable?
And why, when the author/s in question died pre 1955
* and the material downloaded is DRM free and free in $ cost, it may or may not be of concern to the question of copyright if a torrent type site was used to download the material?
(You can probably think of many authors in this category: GK Chesterton, George Bernard Shaw etc, etc)
Below I've copied an excerpt of the Aus Copyright info sheet in order to clarify that an author who died pre 1955 is no longer in copyright in Aus. The rules changed to suit the Aus balance of trade agreement with the US in 2005. (Yes - that's right the balance of trade agreement was the rationale behind the change in copyright law - mmmm ........)
* Here is an excerpt from the Aus Introduction to Coypright fact sheet:
How long does copyright last?
Until 1 January 2005, copyright generally lasted for the life of the relevant creator plus 50 years.
There were various exceptions to this rule, including:
• where a work was not published, performed or broadcast during a creatorʼs lifetime; and
• where something was published anonymously or under a pseudonym, and the identity of the creator couldnʼt reasonably be ascertained.
(In each of these cases, copyright lasted for 50 years from the end of the year the work was, with permission, first published, performed or broadcast.)
Under the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, Australia agreed to extend the general duration of copyright. As a result, the rules now are that copyright generally lasts for the life of the creator plus 70 years and where duration depends on year of publication, it lasts until 70 years after it is first published.
The Free Trade Agreement did not, however, include any obligation to revive copyright if copyright had already expired. This means that if, under the old rules, copyright had already expired by 1 January 2005, it stays expired and the material can be used freely under Australian law.
Note, however, that the duration of copyright varies from country to country.
Where, for example, material is to be reproduced or sold overseas, or where performances are to take place in another country, advice may be needed to determine whether relevant copyright material is still protected in that country, and therefore whether any permissions may be needed in relation to the use of the material in that country.
http://www.copyright.org.au/find-an-answer/