[misc.handicap] Copyright, public domain books

myk@vax5.cit.cornell.edu (Mike Oltz) (07/27/90)

Index Number: 9571

I am not a lawyer.  But, the Copyright Act of 1976 says that copyright
in a work with a known small number of authors lasts for 75 years after
the year in which it was published, or 50 years after the year in which
the last author died, whichever comes first.  A work whose author is not
known, or all of whose authors have agreed in writing to have the work
treated as a 'collective' work, lasts for 100 years after the year in 
which it was published.  A manuscript which languishes on a shelf for
more than 25 years cannot have a copyright last more than 100 years after
it was written down.  Again, if you want to avoid getting sued for doing
something you shouldn't, ask a real copyright lawyer about this.

As for converting public domain books to computer files, a number of groups
are working on this, both commercial firms and volunteers.  I don't know
if any of these are specifically intended for books for the blind, but they
could certainly be used for such.  Dickens, Shakespeare, and Conan Doyle
(Sherlock Holmes) are all out on CD-ROM from commercial firms.
---
Mike Oltz, myk@cornella.bitnet
Interactive Multimedia Group, Cornell University