Posted by John Wilson on September 19, 2004 at 03:48:04 from 202.154.157.202 user hugo.
In Reply to: Re: Dick's Bird Book posted by Peter H on September 18, 2004 at 22:13:14:
Copyright is for 70 years after the death of the author, and Edmund Saunders died in 1942 according to John Nichols (#15885), so Saunder's books would be copyright until the end of 2012. With the usual exemptions (depending on country) for research/review, educational use, private use etc. You should get away with a copy of the whole book for your own private use, despite the threatening notices that libraries put up around photocopiers!
Some authors (and their heirs) have kept some of their early and less worthy books from being republished. Lynne Cheney (now the wife of the strait-laced Republican VP) wrote a “racy” lesbian cowboy novel of the American frontier “Sisters” (1981), but nixed Penguin’s proposal to reissue it, saying it was not her best work! Any secondhand copies around?
I don’t know when Britain, USA etc went from 50 to 70 years, but would a book which had gone out of copyright after 50 years stay out of copyright when the period was raised to 70 years, even though the author had died less than 70 years ago?
Australia & New Zealand still have 50 year copyright, so the Pocket Book of Birds would be out of copyright here (I think Australia goes to 70 years with the US free trade deal). So there should be scope here in NZ for hosting websites with books of authors who died between 50 & 70 years ago! The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra has recorded a work with some revisions or arrangements not approved by the composer’s copyright holder elsewhere.