Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirtel
But then it's not certain the books are lost. The copyright holders may have copies. Or the author may have. Or the translator, if the books were translated. And why do you think the copyright has expired? The author is alive, according to Wikipedia.
There are lots of ebooks that are no longer sold. That doesn't necessarily mean they're lost or out of copyright. Just that they're no longer available for the general public.
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Yes.
The copyright is unlikely to have expired on any of these ebooks unless they were PD content or the Author died long before the ebooks were made.
The only ebooks I have from before 2012 are either PD downloads from Project Gutenberg, or bought on CD.
Any Interactive content CDs (Mac, DOS, Windows) or Sony Bookman or Sony Data Discman CDs will still be copyright.
Copyright does vary in expiry by country, and despite what USA thinks, a work doesn't need to be registered in the USA to be copyright. Copyright is automatic.
The Copyright terms vary from 50 to maybe 90 years depending on country and if a named author or Corporate.
Though CD Audio existed from 1981 approximately, the first Consumer CD ROM player was in late 1985, so only 40 years ago.
Though the Internet was gradually more public during the 1980s, there were no websites till around 1992.
Even if the content is Public Domain, or the author died 50 or more years ago (1974 or earlier depending on country), the formatting/layout and interactive program would still be copyright on any CD ROM or download content, EVERYWHERE, as that's less than 50 years, never mind the longer copyright terms in most countries now.
Of course in practical terms there may be no-one to sue you over abandonware. Expect a response if you successfully publish (even for free) any apparent out-of-print or abandonware.
Beware of uploading copyright material to Internet Archive as that is a greater and more public liability than a download from them. The Internet Archive thinks copyright rules don't apply to them. They've lost court cases and are periodically sued.