I discovered, thanks to this thread, that what I was doing was all
wrong, since I'd been looking for writers who died 75 or more years
ago. I found the following article online (easy to read) and am
quoting below what seems the most useful information:
http://www.copylaw.com/new_articles/PublicDomain.html
In trolling for public domain works, one of your objectives is to
determine whether the copyright owner renewed, or forfeited, their
copyright. Over time, the renewal term was extended by Congress from
28-years to 47-years, and with the passage of the CTEA, from 47-years
to 67-years -- bringing the maximum total to 95-years (i.e., 28 + 67 =
95). For example, a work published in 1930, if properly renewed, will
expire at the end of 2025 under the CTEA.
In 1992, Congress enacted a law that made renewal automatic for works
published between 1964 and 1978. However, if a work was published
between 1923 and 1963, there is an excellent chance it may have fallen
into the public domain for failure to renew. For example, copyright
protection for Frank Capra's classic film, "It's a Wonderful Life"
(1946) was lost in 1974, because someone inadvertently failed to file a
copyright renewal application with the Copyright Office during the 28th
year after the film's release. Notwithstanding, the filmÂ’s owner has
asserted rights based upon copyright in the underlying story and
musical score which were properly renewed.
TIP: Pre-1978 works what are in the public domain because they were
published without proper copyright notice, or, in the case of pre-1964
works, were not timely renewed, do not receive retroactive protection
under the CTEA. Similarly, works published before 1923, do not receive
retroactive protection, and remain in the public domain.
---
Thanks for bringing this issue to our attention.
Marilyn
---------------------
Forwarded Message
From: "David W. Fenton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: finale@shsu.edu
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 08:08:41 -0400
Subject: Re: [Finale] OT permission to set poems
On 22 Aug 2007 at 11:58, John Howell wrote:
> Anything published before 1923 is in the public
> domain (in the U.S.), and may be used freely by anyone. It belongs
to
> all of us.
What about a public-domain poem published in a critical edition that
is itself under copyright, such as a Norton anthology? Is it not the
case that the particular variant spellings and line breaks and so
forth might make it prudent (if not strictly required) that you seek
permission from the publisher of the edition?
--
David W. Fenton http://dfenton.com
David Fenton Associates http://dfenton.com/DFA/
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