Foreign publication prior to 1923 and public domain
- From: Bruce Albrecht <bruce@[redacted]>
- Subject: Foreign publication prior to 1923 and public domain
- Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 21:30:58 -0500
I've wondered why books printed in the UK prior to 1923 are often
not considered PD by Google and its associates in the Google Library
program, and found the possible exception listed at
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/c-fineprint.html
I looked at the 1909 Copyright Act, Sections 22 and 23, where it
basically says that works in the English language published in a
foreign country can get 5 years of interim copyright protection, in
which time the copyright can create an authorized edition in the US
and get a US copyright. IANAL, but this suggests to me that English
language publications published abroad prior to 1918 are all in the
public domain in the US because the interim copyright expired no later
than 1922, and any copyrights from an authorized US edition obtained
in 1917-1922 have lapsed.
This is obviously not the rule by which Google is operating, for I can
easily find English language books published in the UK in 1908 for
which Google only shows the snippet view.
(http://www.megalaw.com/top/copyright/1909/1909_22.php) where it says:
Section 22:
In the case of a book or periodical first published abroad in the
English language the deposit in the Copyright Office, not later than
six months after its publication abroad, of one complete copy of the
foreign edition, with a request for the reservation of the copyright
and a statement of the name and nationality of the author and of the
copyright proprietor and of the date of publication of the said book
or periodical, shall secure to the author or proprietor an ad interim
copyright therein, which shall haveall the force and effect given to
copyright by this title, and shall endure until the expiration of five
years after the date of first publication abroad.
Section 23:
Whenever within the period of such ad interim protection an authorized
edition of such books or periodicals shall be published within the
United States, in accordance with the manufacturing provisions
specified in section 16 of this title, and whenever the provisions of
this title as to deposit of copies, registration, filing of
affidavits, and the printing of the copyright notice shall have been
duly complied with,the copyright shall be extended to endure in such
book or periodical for the term provided in this title.