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Well, I've been researching copyrights more by studying the material on Project Gutenberg and at the US Copyright Office, and I am thoroughly confused and uncertain. Apparently, the only way to determine renewal for books in the period 1923-63, apparently, is to visit the US Copyright Office and search in their reading room OR pay $35.00 for a copyright search. Neither option is feasible, so one can't rely on the publication date of 1923-1963 of a US book and an internet search for renewal (such as the Stanford copyright site) as being sufficient for proof of public domain status. I think the only safe way for books where little if any info about the author is available on the internet is for them to be published before 1923; otherwise public domain status cannot be demonstrated. Likewise, for a US citizen to submit an ebook to MobileRead for any US book published after 1923 is probably unwise because public domain in the US cannot be established unless it already is available on Project Gutenberg (or Archive.org ?) in some form. The US does not recognize the date of author's death as relevant.
I'd appreciate help on this matter from anyone who has experience in determining copyright renewal.
Bob
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