All this discussion about copyright has made me wonder. Does anything ever come out of copyright? Or are the rights always owned by someone into perpetuity.

Shakespeare for example has been dead over four hundred years. I would have thought his work was in the public domain by now, but...

Anyone any thoughts on this.

Best

Prospero

Someone will know more than me, but basically copyright lasts for 75 years after publication, or after the author's death, whichever is earlier.

You can get caught - as I nearly did - by using an in-copyright translation of an out-of-copyright text.

Disney and various other villains are trying to get copyright extended perpetually.

Emma

Disney and various other villains are trying to get copyright extended perpetually.

The long arm of the Walt, eh?

Having raised the question I then fell to thinking about it. Shakespeare's plays as they have come down to us in the form of the First Folio, etc., were actually fair copies of the text in performance.

So allowing for errors in the performance and in the work of the copyist what we have is only an approximation of what Bill ostensibly wrote. Chuck in two hundred years of total disinterest in the Bard, re-discovery back in late eighteenth century a lot fiddling with the texts since, not to mention lengthy debate over who actually wrote the plays and when and how anyone could claim anything is a mystery to me, but then I am sure there is someone somewhere who will be willing to try.

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Prosp

copyright lasts for 75 years after publication, or after the author's death, whichever is earlier.

I’m pretty sure it’s 70 years after the death of the author.
Dee

That's how I understood it. I don't think anyone could sue you for using a Shakespeare quote. I'm doing that very thing in my novel, and if anyone wants to take me on, let 'em try.

The Estate of Tenessee Williams were rather nice, however. They wanted to read the book first, check the context of the quote. It was most heartening when they said they really liked it, looked forward to it's release, then happily gave me a permissions form - and all they want is a copy for the library of the University of the South in Sawanee. Like I said, nice.

JB

Thanks guys

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John

all they want is a copy for the library of the University of the South in Sawanee.

That’s great, JB. Bet you never imagined it getting into a Uni library.

Dee

Yeah, nice one, JB.

Nik.

Thanks guys. Yes, it is quite humbling. Thing is, this book has become something of a magnum opus. Its been rewritten now about five times, so it better be good!

Hows things going with the publishing thing Dee? That sounds like a rather exciting venture.

JB

<Added>

Sewanee is one of America's top liberal arts colleges, and holds the copyrights to Tennessee Williams’ body of work, which was left to the school by the playwright. So yeah, it's quite a big deal for me and my silly little book really. Sorry, had to brag. ;)

JB

Brag away, me old mate, it's sounds to me as if you have every write/right

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John

I’m pretty sure it’s 70 years after the death of the author

Correct, but once you're dead, the money still has to go somewhere, so you should name someone in a will that you would like to inherit it. Otherwise, I would assume it would go to next of kin, but I wouldn't count on it. I got this from the UK Patent Office:

Copyright is a form of intellectual property and, like physical property, can be bought and sold, inherited or otherwise transferred. A transfer of ownership may cover all or only some of the rights to which a copyright owner is entitled.

but this really does piss me off:

Copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (including a photograph) lasts for the life of the author and 70 years from the end of the year in which he/she died.

This is shit, because if you own real estate, it can be passed down from generation to generation. I don't see why the income from something your grandfather has created to help support his family is snatched away just because seventy years has passed.

Colin M

Thanks John. Their asking for the book after reading it gave me a much needed boost as I had begun to have very serious doubts about it. I think the three year wait to publication has played havoc with my objectivity!

Colin, I'm inclined to agree with you. Most authors seem only too willing to allow their works to be quoted as long as they are credited and the usage is fair and un-derogatory to the artist. I think that a work is always recognisable as an author's as long as it has their name on it, but yes, I don't feel it's really fair for someone else other than descendents of the writer get the rights.

It's also why Hollywood can make such terrible movies out of older classics. No one has the power to stop them.

JB