Copyrite Question

jcarson · 02-24-2010, 11:04 AM

I've been browsing the forum, and many of the books say they're, "in the Canadian public domain OR the copyright holder has given specific permission for distribution."

I'm in the US. How do I check to see if it's legal for me to download?

Thanks.

pietvo · 02-24-2010, 11:17 AM

Copyright law in the USA is quite complicated, but as a first approximation you can look at the year the author died. In most cases the copyright extends 70 years after the death of the author, and expires at Jan 1, the next year. But there are exceptions.

Jellby · 02-24-2010, 11:20 AM

For books uploaded here, they're probably legal for you to download from the US, unless it's a book published after 1922 by someone who died more than 50 years ago (1959 or before).

If it's published before 1923, it's public domain in the US.
If the author is alive or died after 1959, it's not public domain in Canada, so it can only be posted here with permission from the author, so you can download it too.

jcarson · 02-24-2010, 11:25 AM

Awesome. Thanks so much.

Hamlet53 · 05-17-2010, 02:29 PM

So if this can be made clear to me. I'm looking at a book for which the text is definitely in the public domain. My question concerns the illustrations. The copy I have lists an original copyright date of 1912 with the actual copy issued in 1927. Would the illustrations also be public domain?

pdurrant · 05-17-2010, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamlet53

So if this can be made clear to me. I'm looking at a book for which the text is definitely in the public domain. My question concerns the illustrations. The copy I have lists an original copyright date of 1912 with the actual copy issued in 1927. Would the illustrations also be public domain?

You don't say where you are, so let's assume you're in the United States of America.

In that case, a book published before 1923 is in the public domain, inlcuding the illustrations.

Now, if your 1927 book is reprint of a 1912 edition, with the interior in all aspects identical to the 1912 book, it's in the public domain, including the illustrations.

If, however, the 1927 is a new edition with , perhaps, new illustrations that didn't appear in the 1912 edition, those illustrations might not be in the public domain - it rather depends on whether the copyright on the new edition was renewed in 1956 or so.

If you're not in the US, the copyright on the illustrations depends on who made them - in most countries they remain in copyright for the lifetime of the creator + 70 years.

Jellby · 05-18-2010, 04:18 AM

... and if the illustrator died in 1959 or before, MobileRead can host them in the main Canadian server (life+50 in Canada).

Hamlet53 · 05-18-2010, 12:45 PM

Thank you both. The book in question, Gulliver’s Travels illustrated, was first published in 1912 (copyright year) with the 1927 edition I have a copy of just being a reprint (including original illustrations). The illustrator, Milo Winter, died in 1956. So it appears to be good to go in the U.S. And Canada and may be placed among the coming attractions for book uploads.

Jellby · 05-19-2010, 04:25 AM

I uploaded an unillustrated version of Gulliver's Travels some time ago (ePub and PDF). It's based on the Project Gutenberg version, but I read the whole book and made some (I think they were not many) corrections. Maybe you can use the text as a source and work only on the illustrations.

pdurrant · 05-19-2010, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jellby

I uploaded an unillustrated version of Gulliver's Travels some time ago (ePub and PDF). It's based on the Project Gutenberg version, but I read the whole book and made some (I think they were not many) corrections. Maybe you can use the text as a source and work only on the illustrations.

It's always useful, if at all possible, to get more than one (independant) electronic version of the text. The massage them into the same format, and do a text compare. With different OCR and proofing, the result of the comparison is usually a lot better than either source text.

That's what I did for my version of Kim - although I used about three source electronic texts, and double-checked with a good quality paper copy, and a scan of a later edition.

A task made more difficult because Kipling made subtle changes to the work in various editions between its publication in 1900 and the last version he edited, published in 1937.

But it /is/ worth it,to end up with a really clean text.

Hamlet53 · 05-19-2010, 12:43 PM

Thanks Jellby, I may take you up on that. I have made a start based on the P.G. version. Sometimes that material is very good and other times it surprisingly bad. I usually read completely through the final product proofing it before uploading here. It could only help starting off with a version that has been through that once before with another set of eyes.

Jellby · 05-19-2010, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamlet53

Thanks Jellby, I may take you up on that. I have made a start based on the P.G. version. Sometimes that material is very good and other times it surprisingly bad. I usually read completely through the final product proofing it before uploading here. It could only help starting off with a version that has been through that once before with another set of eyes.

If you do, I'd appreciate any correction you can send me, so I can improve my version as well

02-24-2010, 11:04 AM	#1
jcarson Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 76 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Kindle	Copyrite Question I've been browsing the forum, and many of the books say they're, "in the Canadian public domain OR the copyright holder has given specific permission for distribution." I'm in the US. How do I check to see if it's legal for me to download? Thanks.

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02-24-2010, 11:17 AM	#2
pietvo Reader Posts: 520 Karma: 24612 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Utrecht, NL Device: Kobo Aura 2, iPhone, iPad	Copyright law in the USA is quite complicated, but as a first approximation you can look at the year the author died. In most cases the copyright extends 70 years after the death of the author, and expires at Jan 1, the next year. But there are exceptions.

02-24-2010, 11:20 AM	#3
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,543 Karma: 19001583 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	For books uploaded here, they're probably legal for you to download from the US, unless it's a book published after 1922 by someone who died more than 50 years ago (1959 or before). If it's published before 1923, it's public domain in the US. If the author is alive or died after 1959, it's not public domain in Canada, so it can only be posted here with permission from the author, so you can download it too.

02-24-2010, 11:25 AM	#4
jcarson Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 76 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Kindle	Awesome. Thanks so much.

05-17-2010, 02:29 PM	#5
Hamlet53 Nameless Being	So if this can be made clear to me. I'm looking at a book for which the text is definitely in the public domain. My question concerns the illustrations. The copy I have lists an original copyright date of 1912 with the actual copy issued in 1927. Would the illustrations also be public domain?

05-18-2010, 04:18 AM	#7
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,543 Karma: 19001583 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	... and if the illustrator died in 1959 or before, MobileRead can host them in the main Canadian server (life+50 in Canada).

05-18-2010, 12:45 PM	#8
Hamlet53 Nameless Being	Thank you both. The book in question, Gulliver’s Travels illustrated, was first published in 1912 (copyright year) with the 1927 edition I have a copy of just being a reprint (including original illustrations). The illustrator, Milo Winter, died in 1956. So it appears to be good to go in the U.S. And Canada and may be placed among the coming attractions for book uploads.

05-19-2010, 04:25 AM	#9
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,543 Karma: 19001583 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	I uploaded an unillustrated version of Gulliver's Travels some time ago (ePub and PDF). It's based on the Project Gutenberg version, but I read the whole book and made some (I think they were not many) corrections. Maybe you can use the text as a source and work only on the illustrations.

05-19-2010, 12:43 PM	#11
Hamlet53 Nameless Being	Thanks Jellby, I may take you up on that. I have made a start based on the P.G. version. Sometimes that material is very good and other times it surprisingly bad. I usually read completely through the final product proofing it before uploading here. It could only help starting off with a version that has been through that once before with another set of eyes.

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