Content Lord of the Rings Now Available! KINDLE, EPUB, PDF, LIT, and MOBI

[tirsales]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

They really ar enot that bad unless you get the eReader version which is that bad.

Fine I simply got that impression from reading the various "LOTR quality" treads here

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

These are not OCR errors, but a result of a poor quality conversion to the eReader format. I suspect that fictionwise will re-do the conversion shortly, and fix these problems.

Fictionwise customer support says:

The errors have been reported to the publisher. We should have a corrected version for you very soon.

Most of the other conversions were done by (or for) the publisher, but I think eReader is done by a Fictionwise contractor and they obviously rushed this one.

[sirbruce]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

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.

17 U.S.C. § 101:
A “derivative work” is a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. A work consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications which, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship, is a “derivative work”.

17 U.S.C. § 103(b):
The copyright in a compilation or derivative work extends only to the material contributed by the author of such work, as distinguished from the preexisting material employed in the work, and does not imply any exclusive right in the preexisting material. The copyright in such work is independent of, and does not affect or enlarge the scope, duration, ownership, or subsistence of, any copyright protection in the preexisting material.

US Copyright Office Circular 14: Derivative Works:
A typical example of a derivative work received for registration in the Copyright Office is one that is primarily a new work but incorporates some previously published material. This previously published material makes the work a derivative work under the copyright law. To be copyrightable, a derivative work must be different enough from the original to be regarded as a "new work" or must contain a substantial amount of new material. Making minor changes or additions of little substance to a preexisting work will not qualify the work as a new version for copyright purposes. The new material must be original and copyrightable in itself. Titles, short phrases, and format, for example, are not copyrightable.

Analysis:
As you say, his introductions and commenatries would receive new copyrights. As to the numerous "editorial revisions", I don't think there is any relevant case law specifically on this point. However, given the substantial amount of work that went into numerous changes and revisions for the 50th Anniversary Edition (on which these ebooks are derived), you can bet that they would try to defend the copyright of those editions even after the earlier editions pass into public domain. I'm sure they would also argue that you can't separate the introductions and commentaries from the textual revisions; they go hand in hand as part of a "new work". IANAL.

[pdurrant]

We can, of course, test this now - just compare the new text against an older edition and see what the changes are - I suspect that individually and collectively they are, in fact, very minor.

And whether the publisher thinks an introduction and commentary is divisible or not doesn't matter - it's easy to create a version without them.

I think the laws you quoted shows clearly that the 50th anniversary text will also fall into the public domain on 1st January 2044 in the US. And I think elsewhere, too.

Originally Posted by sirbruce

Analysis:
As you say, his introductions and commenatries would receive new copyrights. As to the numerous "editorial revisions", I don't think there is any relevant case law specifically on this point. However, given the substantial amount of work that went into numerous changes and revisions for the 50th Anniversary Edition (on which these ebooks are derived), you can bet that they would try to defend the copyright of those editions even after the earlier editions pass into public domain. I'm sure they would also argue that you can't separate the introductions and commentaries from the textual revisions; they go hand in hand as part of a "new work". IANAL.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

These are not OCR errors, but a result of a poor quality conversion to the eReader format. I suspect that fictionwise will re-do the conversion shortly, and fix these problems. (Essentially, they forgot that a line break in XHTML should be treated as a space, which is why a lot of spaces are missing.)

This fault does not exist in the other formats.

I hope so too but then there are still the sub-par maps, illustrations, and formatting to deal with. I am also disappointed with these issues. A shoddy job overall by the looks of it but especially by Fictionwise/Barnes&Noble.

[sirbruce]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

We can, of course, test this now - just compare the new text against an older edition and see what the changes are - I suspect that individually and collectively they are, in fact, very minor.

You'd be surprised. Read "Note on the Text" and "Note on the 50th Anniversary Edition" in the latest copy of the books. You will find a long tale of how each printing has introduced new and different errors. In the latest version "between three and four hundred emendations have been made follwing an exhaustive review of past editions and printings." The current text is based on the 2002 version, which in turn was based on the 1994 version. Each version has had different errors and new revisions.

[Buran]

I'm just glad there's a (legal - I'm sure it's floating around out there) digital version of the book. I bought the omnibus trilogy version as soon as I saw the Kindle blog post. Definitely something I'll be keeping around as a physical copy (I have the Millenium Edition) but something I want to keep easily accessible on the Kindle.

Hopefully in the future the illustrations, etc. will be improved and later downloads will be better.

[13xforever]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

have you actually looked inside the ePub?

Yes, as I told, it's corrupted. I've contacted their support and they replied

Originally Posted by Books on Board Support

Thank you for shopping with BooksOnBoard, and thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have contacted the distributors and they should provide us with a corrected file in the next 24 hours.

which should be, like, now.
But I cannot check it out, because of the download limits, which I broke yesterday, so I am going to contact them again

[curtw]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

These are not OCR errors, but a result of a poor quality conversion to the eReader format. I suspect that fictionwise will re-do the conversion shortly, and fix these problems. (Essentially, they forgot that a line break in XHTML should be treated as a space, which is why a lot of spaces are missing.)

This fault does not exist in the other formats.

I concur. The Mobipocket version I got from fictionwise is excellent, down to fully-functioning hyperlinks for the footnotes in the LOTR appendices.

(Of course, most of these "broke" when Calibre converted it to LRF for me, but that's an exploration for a different day).

[Slow_hand]

Disney will make sure the copyright law is changed long before LOTR is affected. Not a joke.

[clee]

Originally Posted by Ea

I have been looking at this one - Folio Society ed. - though I'd like to see a few more examples of the artwork before paying that much money

Ea, I have the Folio Society Hobbit/LOTR set (and the Silmarillion, too) and I can scan in some pictures for you if you want. The books are gorgeous.

If you join the Folio Society as a new member, you do obligate yourself to buy a few more books, but they have a "joining offer" for the Hobbit/LOTR if you're in the US. ($10 for the set.)

[demoric]

Personally I have no moral problems with a darknet copy of a book if you still have a physical print version, and there isn't one available in electronic format. (I view this a fair use, although actual legality may vary).

I was very happy to purchase the Hobbit and LOTR collections for my Kindle. The pricing was fair, and finally the availability was there for a legitimate version. I just purchased my copies through Amazon.

[Ea]

Originally Posted by clee

Ea, I have the Folio Society Hobbit/LOTR set (and the Silmarillion, too) and I can scan in some pictures for you if you want. The books are gorgeous.

If you join the Folio Society as a new member, you do obligate yourself to buy a few more books, but they have a "joining offer" for the Hobbit/LOTR if you're in the US. ($10 for the set.)

That would be wonderful. You don't have to scan, a photo would be fine if that is easier. One reason I am interested, apart from the quality of the books themselves, is that the artist name "Ingahild Grathmer" is actually a pseudonym for HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. She's been a fan since she read the books when they were first published. However, I haven't been able to find out exactly what this mean: "Illustrations by Ingahild Grathmer, drawn by Eric Fraser" and how much it affects the final look. Does it mean that Eric Fraser has made new illustrations inspired by hers, or just inked in her original drawings. If I could see few (3-4) then I could get a better impression. They do have two examples on the Folio Soc. page, but the style doesn't look like what I would expect - I just don't know if they are representative for the book.

Stop press... I was just now looking for examples of what I expect, and stumbled over a site with four examples of promotional posters for an edition with the queen's drawings, and it says right on them that they are redrawn by Eric Fraser (http://www.qxl.dk/pris/antikviteter-...v/an567595504/) - image on the left. If that is representative of the books, then I'm sure I'd like to buy them. I'd still like to take advantage of your offer and see a few examples

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by sirbruce

From: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/83096-page.html

"HarperCollins will follow the digital publication of these titles with The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún (£18.99), The Silmarillion (£7.99) and Unfinished Tales (£7.99) on 5th May. These e-book releases are timed to coincide with the hardback of the previously unpublished The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún."

EXCELLENT! Thank you very much for reporting this.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by sirbruce

You'd be surprised. Read "Note on the Text" and "Note on the 50th Anniversary Edition" in the latest copy of the books. You will find a long tale of how each printing has introduced new and different errors. In the latest version "between three and four hundred emendations have been made follwing an exhaustive review of past editions and printings." The current text is based on the 2002 version, which in turn was based on the 1994 version. Each version has had different errors and new revisions.

If you're interested in knowing more about this, I'd thoroughly recommend:

The "Lord of the Rings": a Reader's Companion by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull

which lists all the emendations and the reasons for making each one, as well as providing a fascinating insight into the text, chapter by chapter. Hammond and Scull are the authors of the "Note to the 50th Anniversary Edition", that's now a part of the LOTR book.