Bit of a dodgy situation...
Nov. 20th, 2013 04:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reynardoThis is about books published in the US.
Imagine, if you would, a book written by someone who was alive in the last 50 years, so therefore the book is still in copyright (as I understand US copyright law, that is. If I'm wrong, let me know).
The author wanted to share the joy with four other people, so she willed the ownership of the book to those four. Alas, two of them have since disappeared, and so no-one knows quite who owns the rights to the book, or who can give permission for reprints. The book itself has been out of print for years.
Now imagine a fast-acting company have got their hands on an old copy of the book and have decided to instead photocopy every single page, print off those copies, bind them and sell them as a new copy of the book. No money goes to the estate of the author.
The "reprint" is very spartan - the cover is minimalist to the point that I find it hard to believe the company even pays for a designer. It also has, on several pages, the marks that show that the original book came from an old library copy - it even has the asset number.
Assuming that the publishers got hold of the book legally (eg bought it at a sale from the Library), what is the legal situation in regards to just photocopying and printing off a new copy of the book?
Imagine, if you would, a book written by someone who was alive in the last 50 years, so therefore the book is still in copyright (as I understand US copyright law, that is. If I'm wrong, let me know).
The author wanted to share the joy with four other people, so she willed the ownership of the book to those four. Alas, two of them have since disappeared, and so no-one knows quite who owns the rights to the book, or who can give permission for reprints. The book itself has been out of print for years.
Now imagine a fast-acting company have got their hands on an old copy of the book and have decided to instead photocopy every single page, print off those copies, bind them and sell them as a new copy of the book. No money goes to the estate of the author.
The "reprint" is very spartan - the cover is minimalist to the point that I find it hard to believe the company even pays for a designer. It also has, on several pages, the marks that show that the original book came from an old library copy - it even has the asset number.
Assuming that the publishers got hold of the book legally (eg bought it at a sale from the Library), what is the legal situation in regards to just photocopying and printing off a new copy of the book?
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no subject
Date: 2013-11-20 03:18 am (UTC)Having said that, however, this, to me, seems to be an infringement and no more than a 'bootleg' copy of the work.
I've had a little experience with copyright for written work, but most of my dealings has been with music, so I've been looked after by APRA (Australian Performing Rights Association).
I don't really know how you'd go about reporting this, but a good start may be via the Australian Copyright Council:
www.copyright.org.au
They give free online legal advice and may be able to point you in the right direction, whether this is an Australian work or not.