Hey, sorry if this is the wrong spot, I can repost the question elsewhere if there's a better spot for it.
I've got a question for those hip to the publishing jive. I'm putting together a manuscript that uses a few items from books that are in the public domain. With a couple of them, I'm confident about their status, but with a couple of others, not so much.
As such, I'm looking to find a lawyer who specializes in this sort of thing. None of the titles show up in the relevant searches, but I want to make sure I'm doing things properly and not infringe on anybody's stuff.
All the books are American. I'm outside the States and would have to do stuff via correspondence. I'm willing to explore whatever payment method makes sense.
Thanks if you read this far! Any guidance on where I should start looking, or people I should start contacting?
Lawyers specializing in the public domain?
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Lawyers specializing in the public domain?
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- Richard Kaufman
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Re: Lawyers specializing in the public domain?
Anything prior to 1923 is public domain.
You can do searches online back to a certain year, for the rest you have to go to the copyright office and do the search in person.
You can do searches online back to a certain year, for the rest you have to go to the copyright office and do the search in person.
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Re: Lawyers specializing in the public domain?
Just write the idea up in your own words. Ideas are not copyright. The actual wording is. You can still credit the originator.
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Re: Lawyers specializing in the public domain?
Richard,
Given my geographical situation, would that mean I'd be looking to get the services of somebody who lives in Washington DC?
Given my geographical situation, would that mean I'd be looking to get the services of somebody who lives in Washington DC?
JACK, the Jolly Almanac of Card Knavery, a free beginner's resource for card magic.
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Re: Lawyers specializing in the public domain?
Send me an email at wevans@cecb.com and I will point you in the right direction.
Re: Lawyers specializing in the public domain?
performer wrote:Just write the idea up in your own words. Ideas are not copyright. The actual wording is. You can still credit the originator.
What the hell do you need a lawyer for? As this quoted post says you can take any trick you want and providing you use your own words to describe the trick or idea you are in the clear. What you are not supposed to do is lift the actual wording. You can credit the originator if you want to but that is an ethical decision, not a legal one. You can steal a new trick from a recent book and claim it to be yours if you are of an unscrupulous nature as long as you do so in your own words.
Besides, as Robert Orben once wrote 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name
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Re: Lawyers specializing in the public domain?
A few years on from the original post, the public domain cutoff in the US is now anything before January 1, 1928.