[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Public Domain is Life+70. Did the author die before 1946? If no, then the book is not public domain.

[...]

The book was published in 1946. Therefore it is not in public domain. The information is public domain. but the pictures and other stuff isn't.

Not necessarily:

https://collections.stanford.edu/cop...e?forward=home

The period from 1923-1963 is of special interest for US copyrights, as works published after January 1, 1964 had their copyrights automatically renewed by statute, and works published before 1923 have generally fallen into the public domain. Between those dates, a renewal registration was required to prevent the expiration of copyright, however determining whether a work's registration has been renewed is a challenge. Renewals received by the Copyright Office after 1977 are searchable in an online database, but renewals received between 1950 and 1977 were announced and distributed only in a semi-annual print publication. The Copyright Office does not have a machine-searchable source for this renewal information, and the only public access is through the card catalog in their DC offices.

It looks like SigilBear's was originally published in New York in 1938, so it definitely falls in this unclear period. More thorough research would have to be done, but there is a very high chance it has already fallen into the Public Domain.

I searched for Author: Shankle in the Copyright Renewal Database and nothing showed up... which is a strong indication it was NOT renewed...

Although here lies the problem: you can't be exactly 100% sure, so many publishers steer clear of trying to republish/digitize these books (0.001% chance of getting sued is too high for them).

OR they won't even waste the resources on a more thorough Copyright Search. As an example, the US Copyright Office states:

The U.S. Copyright Office offers a search service for persons interested in investigating whether a work is under copyright protection and, if so, the facts of the copyright. For a fee of $200 per hour or fraction thereof (2 hour minimum), the office will search its public records and provide a report of its findings.

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

You don't need to buy an ISBN for your Amazon ebook.

Might I recommend you do more research into the ebook world before diving off the deep end head first.

There is a (I believe strong) case for assigning ISBNs anyway:

http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/1...ase-for-isbns/

And it is perfectly legitimate if SigilBear wants to have ISBNs for each separate edition of the book.

Typically publishers have these ISBNs:

• Print (Hardcover/Softcover/Large Print)
• ebook

but there is no reason why you couldn't subdivide that further by having ebook split into:

• MOBI (Amazon)
• EPUB (B&N/Kobo/Everyone)
• EPUB enhanced with Audio/Video (iBooks)
• PDF (it is arguable if this is different from Print)

although I can't say I have ever seen it go that far in person. But the International ISBN Agency does mention it in their "Guidelines for assignment to e-books":

What is a separate digital publication?

In order to reach the widest possible market, a publisher or retailer may make a particular e-book title available as multiple product options. Although the editorial content will be the same, if a specific device or software is required to read the e-book or different user functionality is provided (e.g. copy, print, lend etc.) then each time this changes it will be a distinct product. Each distinct product that is available must be identified by its own ISBN as it is a separate publication. Thus, a separate publication is normally defined by a combination of file format and Digital Rights Management software.

What if the e-books are all in the same format (e.g. EPUB)?

If the different versions are in the same format and use the same DRM software (e.g. Adobe ACS4) with substantially the same settings and are interoperable on different devices or software, then a single ISBN should be used. If, however, the same DRM software is used on two versions but with significantly different settings (e.g. one allows printing but the other does not) then each version should have its own separate ISBN.

If proprietary DRM is used that ties a version to a specific platform, device or software then, if ISBNs are assigned, separate ISBNs should be used for each such version.

What about proprietary formats (e.g. Amazon Kindle)?

Some retailers are the sole providers of e-books in a proprietary format that can only be bought through their website. An example is Kindle format e-books which are only available from Amazon. In this particular case as there is one source of supply, the retailer does not require ISBNs and so it is not strictly necessary for the publisher to assign an ISBN to this particular version. Publishers can assign an ISBN if they wish, for example if it is useful for their own purposes or they want that version to be listed in third-party databases of available e-books .As these platforms are generally not interoperable, if ISBNs are assigned they must be unique to each version so as to avoid identification problems if those versions should later become available through third parties.

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Oh and if it was/is such a great reference, why hasn't anyone over the last 70+ years bothered with a reprint.

There is an absolute ton of fantastic culture that is never reprinted. See the Orphan Works problem:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan_works

Side Note: Articles pop up on this problem all the time:

https://www.techdirt.com/blog/?tag=orphan+works

There are millions of books effected (not to mention all the other stuff: photographs, journal articles, letters, music, [...]).

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I was going by Brian's comment about 95 years.
And the OP did say it was reprinted in 1975.

Just because the book is reprinted/digitized doesn't mean the book is magically pulled from the Public Domain for another ~hundred years. It goes by original publication date.