Some Books that Aren't in the Public Domain (and why)

Suggest and discuss books to read (all languages welcome!)
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Cori
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Post by Cori »

All the books mentioned in this thread have been suggested at one time or another, but they aren't legal to record here at LibriVox -- to keep the forum tidy, I've made them into a list below, and put in the relevant copyright information.

This is not a complete list of books that have been suggested, but it does have some of the more often-requested titles.

All copyright info is my understanding of it, as it applies to LibriVox but I am not a lawyer, so please use this as guidance and do your own checking if desired. Also, it is all current as of January 2019, but that's not to say the law in the US won't change again. :roll:
Only US law is mentioned - read here for why.

Books by Agatha Christie -- Some of her books, including The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Secret Adversary, The Murder on the Links and The Secret of Chimneys, are in the US public domain. The first two have been recorded for LibriVox, but her estate disputed the legality of that, since the site was founded (and the domain name owned) by a Canadian. Christie's estate had taken an issue with this technicality and approached Hugh (the founder of LV). LV was threatened with legal action at the time if we did not remove the recordings -- even though the files were stored in the US, as all our files are, at archive.org. Since Christie died in 1976, her works will be PD in Canada at the start of 2047, and LibriVox should be safe at that point to record all her works published before 1952 (because US copyright law is in play too, of course -- covering everything published 95+ years before 2047.)

1984 by George Orwell
First published in 1949, US copyright will expire in 2045. (Because Orwell died in 1950, this book is already out of copyright in some countries, including Canada and Australia. See link above for more about LibriVox geography, though!)

Animal Farm by George Orwell
First published in 1945, US copyright will expire in 2041.

Anne of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery
First published in 1939, copyright later renewed, US copyright will expire in 2035.

Anne of Windy Poplars by Lucy Maud Montgomery
First published in 1936, copyright later renewed, US copyright will expire in 2032.

Apache Wedding Prayer (poem) by Albert Maltz
Usually thought to be a traditional prayer, this poem has been written by Albert Maltz for the movie Broken Arrow, in 1950.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
First published in 1957, US copyright will expire in 2053.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
First published in 1932, US copyright will expire in 2028.

The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
First published in 1951, copyright later renewed, US copyright now expires in 2044.

Cheaper By The Dozen by Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
First published in 1948, copyright later renewed, US copyright now expires in 2044.

The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benet
First published in 1938, copyright later renewed, US copyright now expires in 2034.

Feynman Lectures On Physics by Richard Phillips Feynman
First published in 1962 (or 64?), copyright later renewed, US copyright now expires in 2058 (or 60).

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
First published in 1943, US copyright will expire in 2039.

The Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot
First published in 1943 and copyright renewed 1970. US copyright will expire in 2039. [Added by admin RuthieG]

Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig
First published in 2004, released electronically by the author under a Creative Commons license. US copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author. Note: It is available in audio format at achive.org: http://www.archive.org/details/free-culture-audiobook

Galactic Derelict by Andre Norton
First published in 1959, copyright later renewed, US copyright now expires in 2055. Author died in 2005, life+50 copyright expires in 2056 and life+70 expires in 2076.

The Godfather by Mario Puzo
First published in 1969, copyright later renewed, US copyright now expires in 2065.

Gospel of Judas
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060406/ts_nm/religion_judas_dc_2
Although this is an old document, the newly-published translations will be copyrighted, and so cannot be recorded here at LV until 70 years after the death of their translator.

The Gulag Archipelago, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
First published in 1973, US copyright will expire in 2069. (Translations published between '73 and '77 expire 95 years after publication date. Translations published in and after 1978 will be in the public domain until life of translator + 70 years. )

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
First published in 1960, copyright later renewed, US copyright will expire in 2056.

Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon
First published in 1930, US copyright will expire in 2026.

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
First published in 1935, copyright later renewed, US copyright now expires in 2031.

The Little Prince or, Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry
First published in 1943, US copyright in the French text will expire in 2039. No translations can be in the public domain until after that date.

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
First published in 1996, US copyright will expire 70 years after the death of its author.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
First published in 1937, US copyright will expire in 2033.

Out of Africa, by Isak Dinesen
First published in the US in 1938, US copyright will expire in 2034.

Ovid's Metamorphoses translated by A. S. Kline
Copyright 2000, All Rights Reserved
This work MAY be FREELY reproduced, stored and transmitted, electronically or otherwise, for any NON-COMMERCIAL purpose.
This can't be read at LibriVox because we release all our recordings into the public domain -- that means there are no limitations on the uses people can put them to ... including selling them commercially, which conflicts with the 'Creative Commons' license used by the translator. This particular translation will enter the public domain 70 years after the death of its translator. Older translations are recordable, for example, here.

The Pearl by John Steinbeck
First published in 1947, Copyright renewed in 1974. US copyright will expire in 2043.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
First published in 1961, US copyright will expire in 2057.

The Quiet American by Graham Greene
First published in 1955, US copyright will expire in 2051.

A Roving Commission by Winston Spencer Churchill
First published in 1930, copyright later renewed, US copyright now expires in 2026.

The Stranger, or The Outsider, or L’Étranger by Albert Camus
First published in 1942, US copyright in the French text will expire in 2038. No translations can be in the public domain until after that date.

The Trial (English translation) by Franz Kafka
The first English translation was done by Willa & Edwin Muir in 1937. That edition's copyright will expire in 2033.
The version on Project Gutenberg is copyrighted.

We the Living by Ayn Rand
First published in 1936, copyright later renewed, US copyright now expires in 2032.

West Side Story by Arthur Laurents
First published in 1957, copyright later renewed, US copyright now expires in 2053.

Books by Cory Doctorow -- although these are often released under Creative Commons licences, that still limits what can be done with the file and is not the same as being in the Public Domain. 70 years after author's death, unless he puts them into the PD before that.

Books by Stephen King -- enter the public domain 70 years after author's death.
Last edited by Cori on May 11th, 2008, 8:10 am, edited 4 times in total.
klcislc
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Post by klcislc »

I wish I knew when her books were published... At any rate, I would love to help record her works if they are available for the public domain.
Do you know if they are in the public domain?
ductapeguy
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Post by ductapeguy »

There is a Wikipedia Article on her at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilie_Loring

She was born in 1864 and died in 1951.

Her published works run from 1922 to the 1970s.

Only the first, published in 1922 The Trail of Conflict (Penn) is PD in the United States. All the rest are almost certainly still under copyright.

I don't know if there are any online sources for the trail of Conflict. I just did a cursory wikipedia search. Other volunteers more knowledgeable about copyright than I may have some other insights into this author.
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AnnSterling
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Post by AnnSterling »

How about Julian of Norwich's writings? Are these avaliable? They are hundreds of years old.
Ann
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Tom Jeffers
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Post by Tom Jeffers »

Anything by Robert E. Howard legal?
Cori
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Post by Cori »

There's nothing at the US Project Gutenberg, or on the Pending Arrival at PG list, which isn't a great sign ... but if you feel like some detective work, Tom, then PG-Australia has some online texts, and there is an interesting piece of discussion here about the possible ins and outs of legalities ... combining the two of those might get you somewhere. Anything published before 1925 would be fine ... things published after that (in the US) need to have been non-copyright renewed in the US. (Outside the US is different again, and in most countries, all his work is PD -- but our files are stored in the US, so must follow that law too. It's not too hard to check with books, but is a bit more complicated with short stories that were published in magazines.)

The best bet would be to research some likely-looking stories, and then try to clear them through the Gutenberg system (they are lawyers who have a fairly firm grasp of the system. Rule 6 is the key one in use, although helpfully, that page is empty at the moment.)
There's honestly no such thing as a stupid question -- but I'm afraid I can't rule out giving a stupid answer : : To Posterity and Beyond!
wimberprincess
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Post by wimberprincess »

Are there different laws for old scientific books/works/treatises-- like Newton's Principia or da Vinci's notebooks?
Steampunk
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Post by Steampunk »

wimberprincess wrote:Are there different laws for old scientific books/works/treatises-- like Newton's Principia or da Vinci's notebooks?
As long as it's pre-1925 it's public domain. However, in cases like you cite, you'd have to make sure you're reading from originals, transcriptions, or translations which are also public domain.

A straight copy of a public domain work is generally public domain also. However any "sweat of the brow" added such as translation, illustration, significant editing, et cetera carries a new copyright with it.


Jim
Jacquerie
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Post by Jacquerie »

I notice that Death Comes for the Archbishop, and Shadow on the Rocks, though in the public domain per David's list, aren't in gutenberg or archive.org. Is that an oversight, or is there some reason they aren't available in text form?

Chris
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Post by RuthieG »

The entries on David's list of works in progress have an 'a' after them, which indicates that they are PD in Australia, and are on the Gutenberg Australia site.

Death Comes for the Archbishop was published in 1927 and US copyright was renewed in 1955, so that is not in the Public Domain, and will be under copyright until 2023, as far as I can see.

Shadows on the Rock was published 1931 and copyright was renewed in 1958, so won't be PD until 2027.

Ruth
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Jacquerie
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Post by Jacquerie »

RuthieG wrote:The entries on David's list of works in progress have an 'a' after them, which indicates that they are PD in Australia, and are on the Gutenberg Australia site.

Death Comes for the Archbishop was published in 1927 and US copyright was renewed in 1955, so that is not in the Public Domain, and will be under copyright until 2023, as far as I can see.

Shadows on the Rock was published 1931 and copyright was renewed in 1958, so won't be PD until 2027.

Ruth
I see. Thank you, Ruth.
darrin2520
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Post by darrin2520 »

I see several Steinbeck books in the copyrighted list, but not the Grapes of Wrath. I don't believe that this is in the Public Domain, nor are any of Steinbecks books that I could see, but I just wanted to confirm that.
Cori
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Post by Cori »

No, nothing that Steinbeck wrote will enter the public domain until 2023 at the earliest, and most quite a long time after that.
There's honestly no such thing as a stupid question -- but I'm afraid I can't rule out giving a stupid answer : : To Posterity and Beyond!
Kwai
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Post by Kwai »

Will the book Zhuang Zi ever appear on the catalog? It must be in the public domain, the author died over 2000 years ago. It is one of the three most important Taoist books, The Tao Teh Ching and Lieh Tse are already available on the catalog, only Zhuang Zi is missing.
annise
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Post by annise »

We hope that all PD books will appear in the catalogue one day but people pick what they wish to record , and no one has picked that one yet :(

Anne
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