Tolkien died in 1973. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were published before he died. They will come into the public domain in most countries on 1st January 2044, unless the law is changed before then.
I think that versions of the texts published after his death with minor corrections will also be in the public domain then, as the changes are not sufficiently significant to count as a new text subject to a new copyright.
Introductions and commentaries, of course, do have their own copyrights.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Krystian Galaj
As long as he doesn't try to prevent the original editions from being available in public domain, I'm fine with that  Maybe I'm too suspicious... |