----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2000 12:01
AM
Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Busby
permission
Pat,
Just out of curiosity, I think you have a copy
of the book in question. Does
it have a copyright statement in the book?
Ken Martindale
Ken,
My edition of MANNED SUBMERSIBLES was published
in 1976 by the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy, names R. Frank Busby
as the author; and does not display a copyright notice. According to the
Legal Information Institute at Cornell University, under these circumstances,
U.S. CODE TITLE 17 establishes copyrights for the author and/or his heirs, not
the publisher.
Generally, an author's right to protect his
intellectual property begins on the date of publication, whether or not
he files a copyright application or displays a copyright notice; the main
difference is in the methods of recourse and levels of damages available in
matters of infringement, but in either event, the author's rights can be
enforced in a court of law.
For works copyrighted before 1978, the term is 28
years; thus, it seems a book published in 1976 would be protected through
2004.
Works published during or after 1978 have an
effective copyright span which includes the author's lifetime plus 70 years;
and, works published before 1978 can be re-filed to secure this same range of
protection.
The author, and/or his heirs, may file copyrights
for a "restored work" which would remain in effect for "life plus
70 years" .
Thus, it does not seem that MANNED SUBMERSIBLES
is in the public domain, or that the previous publisher (or anyone else) has
the right to reprint it without authorization from the author's heirs;
and, I believe doing so would infringe on established rights, possibly
resulting in legal prosecution. Therefore, I recommend against any
republication of MANNED SUBMERSIBLES not specifically authorized by the heirs
of author R. Frank Busby.
I'm not trying to rain on anybody's parade; I
just don't want to see anyone get burned. A web-version of MANNED
SUBMERSIBLES could be great; but I think it is both necessary and wise to
obtain permission from Busby's heirs first.
Pat