CHAT: Copyright
| From: | Weiben Wang <weibenw@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Thursday, December 6, 2001, 20:16 |
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Currently, the term of copyright in the United States
is generally life of the author plus 70 years, and is
automatically protected without registration. Prior
to 1978, copyright lasted 28 years from date of
registration, renewable. See this web site from the
US Copyright Office:
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html#hlc
Works published in 1923 could have their copyright
extended to 75 years total, maximum, which means
copyright expired in 1998. In 1998, a new law was
passed extending the the term for all works still
under copyright.
Now that reread my longwinded response, I realize that
David said the same thing in a much more concise
fashion :P, with the slight clarification that while
all works prior to 1923 are public domain, some works
after 1923 are also out of copyright, depending on
when it was published and whether the copyright was
renewed. I'm a librarian, so I too care about
copyright. I'll shut up now.
-Weiben
--- David Starner <starner@...> wrote:
> On Thu, Dec 06, 2001 at 08:26:51AM +1100, Tristan
> Alexander McLeay wrote:
> > On Wed, 5 Dec 2001, Yoon Ha Lee wrote:
> >
> > > #define QUESTION ((bb) || !(bb)) /* (c) W.
> Shakespeare */
> >
> > Did they have copyright back then? And even if
> they did, it'd be well out
> > of copyright by now, Shakespeare's been dead for
> more that twenty-five
> > years... (at least according to Aussie copyright
> law. I know they've got
> > something different in America and have no idea
> about the UK, which would
> > be the one that counts)
>
> Aussie law is it's in public domain after the author
> has been dead for
> 50 years. The United States is it's in public domain
> if it was published
> before 1923, and the UK is dead for 75 years, IIRC.
> I work with Project
> Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.net / www.gutenberg.net.au
> for Australian
> stuff), so these details are rather important to me.
>
> --
> David Starner - starner@okstate.edu, ICQ #61271672
> Pointless website:
http://dvdeug.dhis.org
> When the aliens come, when the deathrays hum, when
> the bombers bomb,
> we'll still be freakin' friends. - "Freakin'