Perelman, Yakov - Physics for Entertainment - Copyright Issue in the US?

ade_mcc · 07-03-2010, 03:37 PM

1st post, please be gentle!

After a long on-going battle to downsize and make space in the house, I justified to myself the benifits of purchasing an ebook reader and two weeks ago, bought a PRS-300.

I downloaded Sigil one week ago and decided to throw myself in at the deep end and convert 'Physics for Entertainment' by Yakov Perelman, a text that I had read a couple of years ago in PDF format. I found that whilst an epub version was available from the same source, that it had been automatically converted and thus contained numerous OCR spelling errors, formatting issues and inconsistent image reproduction.

What I have now is a vastly improved version of the text both spell checked and formatted nicely, plus re-scans of all 155 PDF illustrations.

However, I am fully aware of the potential for breach of copyright issues and so ask for clarification/suggestions.

Am I correct that just because the PDF (and other formats) are available through www.archive.org, doesn't automatically mean that I can upload here?

If it helps, Physics for Entertainment was originally published in 1913 (according to wikipedia) and Yakov Perelman died in 1942.

Given that I am based in the UK, are there other places that I can safely upload?

In the worst case scenario where someone states that I cannot legally upload this document to the internet without breaching copyright, then no worries, I have learned a huge amount of HTML in this past week! I'll just have to work out what the next project will be....

Worldwalker · 07-03-2010, 04:04 PM

IANAL, but I believe everything published in the US before 1923 is now out of copyright, and it would also be legit in life+50 countries (and in a couple of years in life+70 countries). Better to have someone else confirm that, though.

guyanonymous · 07-03-2010, 04:09 PM

Sounds like an interesting book, so I hope to see the fruits of your labour!

HarryT · 07-03-2010, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ade_mcc

Am I correct that just because the PDF (and other formats) are available through www.archive.org, doesn't automatically mean that I can upload here?

Nope - if it's on archive.org it's absolutely fine to upload here.

ade_mcc · 07-03-2010, 06:36 PM

Thanks folks for a swift response - much appreciated! I've posted here.

Jellby · 07-04-2010, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ade_mcc

If it helps, Physics for Entertainment was originally published in 1913 (according to wikipedia) and Yakov Perelman died in 1942.

Given that I am based in the UK, are there other places that I can safely upload?

It is public domain in the US (it was published before 1923), it is public domain in Canada (its author died more than 50 years ago), but it is not public domain in the UK (its author died less than 70 years ago). So, MobileRead can legally host it, but you cannot legally upload it from the UK; whether or not you care about that, that's a different matter

Note, however, that the above refers to the original Russian text (assuming the original was in Russian, which I don't know). For any translation, one would have to consider the date of publication of the translation and the date of death of the translator.

HarryT · 07-04-2010, 11:08 AM

If the English translation is on archive.org, however, that means that it is in the US public domain.

07-03-2010, 03:37 PM	#1
ade_mcc Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 500 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Sony PRS-300	Perelman, Yakov - Physics for Entertainment - Copyright Issue in the US? 1st post, please be gentle! After a long on-going battle to downsize and make space in the house, I justified to myself the benifits of purchasing an ebook reader and two weeks ago, bought a PRS-300. I downloaded Sigil one week ago and decided to throw myself in at the deep end and convert 'Physics for Entertainment' by Yakov Perelman, a text that I had read a couple of years ago in PDF format. I found that whilst an epub version was available from the same source, that it had been automatically converted and thus contained numerous OCR spelling errors, formatting issues and inconsistent image reproduction. What I have now is a vastly improved version of the text both spell checked and formatted nicely, plus re-scans of all 155 PDF illustrations. However, I am fully aware of the potential for breach of copyright issues and so ask for clarification/suggestions. Am I correct that just because the PDF (and other formats) are available through www.archive.org, doesn't automatically mean that I can upload here? If it helps, Physics for Entertainment was originally published in 1913 (according to wikipedia) and Yakov Perelman died in 1942. Given that I am based in the UK, are there other places that I can safely upload? In the worst case scenario where someone states that I cannot legally upload this document to the internet without breaching copyright, then no worries, I have learned a huge amount of HTML in this past week! I'll just have to work out what the next project will be....

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07-03-2010, 04:04 PM	#2
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	IANAL, but I believe everything published in the US before 1923 is now out of copyright, and it would also be legit in life+50 countries (and in a couple of years in life+70 countries). Better to have someone else confirm that, though.

07-03-2010, 04:09 PM	#3
guyanonymous Guru Posts: 692 Karma: 27532 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Ebookwise 1150 / 1200	Sounds like an interesting book, so I hope to see the fruits of your labour!

07-03-2010, 06:36 PM	#5
ade_mcc Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 500 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Sony PRS-300	Thanks folks for a swift response - much appreciated! I've posted here.

07-04-2010, 11:08 AM	#7
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,560 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	If the English translation is on archive.org, however, that means that it is in the US public domain.