You might want to check out the US Copyright's Office information on the fair use principle, http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
They suggest, among other things, getting permission from the copyright holder if there is any question about fair use. I'm not sure how you'd find out who holds the copyright, if both the author and publisher are out of the picture. The author's estate, maybe? While I'm pretty picky about copyright issues myself, in this case it's my personal opinion that ethics are on your side. There is certainly no evidence, from what you've told us, that you'd be taking money out of either the author's or publisher's pockets, and it sounds like you've made a good-faith effort to find a copy of the book. I'm guessing that the author would be pleased to know that his hard work continues to be used. Rebecca J. > -----Original Message----- > [snip] > > 1 person was quite adamant about not photocopying/scanning the book, > > saying it is a "blatant violation of copyright" and I would "be stealing > > right from [the authors'] pockets." Is it okay for me to photocopy/scan > > the whole book if both authors are dead, the book is out of print, the > > publisher is defunct, and there are no copies to be located despite an > > enormous effort to find a copy? I would not be distributing the > > material, nor would I be using it for a class or with students or > > others-- pretty much for my own use only.
