Book Copyright
Can you acquire copyright on a book if the copywriter (publishing comp)no longer exist and if it was from 1971?
I have a book that lists a publishing company as the copyright holder. The author has not been heard from in over 10 years. This book was original published in 1971 on a very limited run.I have not found any other books published by or copyrighted by this publisher. Can this book be reprinted as long as the original author/copyrighter is included in the reproduction?
In the US, copyrights last for the life of the author plus 70 years. And for corporations and publishers who have copyrights on works where they specifically hired someone to create the particular work, it can last anywhere from 95 to 120 years from the publishing date. So either way, it sounds like you are out of luck based on the facts you gave. Absent getting express permission from the copyright holder, you could be sued for copyright infringement. And the legal consequences can be severe if they really wanted to go after you.
No lawyer on here will advise you to break the law regardless of how remote the possibility that anyone may actually go after you. (And FYI, although copyright infringement is usually just a civil matter, it is also against the law and can be prosecuted criminally if it is considered willful). So make sure you get all your ducks in a row before doing anything you may regret.
How to Copyright a Book
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This entry was posted on Saturday, November 26th, 2005 at 11:58 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.