[padg] Re: copyright for foreign titles

["Zachary, Shannon" <szachary@xxxxxxxxx>]

Title: Re: [padg] copyright for foreign titles

If you are not familiar with this resource, check out Peter Hirtle’s handy chart Copyright Term and the Public Domain at http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain/

While there is no way a chart with brief information can cover every detail, this is a very useful place to start.
--
Shannon Zachary
Preservation & Conservation
University Library, University of Michigan

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From: Cathleen Martyniak <cathy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: <padg@xxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:52:15 -0500
To: <padg@xxxxxxx>
Subject: [padg] copyright for foreign titles

Hello,
 
I am looking for information re: legally reformatting brittle materials published outside the US.  I have many brittle books that are not US imprints that have been selected for long term retention and I want to scan/post. Unfortunately, I am unable to [easily or at all] determine their copyright status.
 
What do you do at your institution with this kind of material? Do you apply US law to it?  Do you attempt to determine the copyright law of the foreign country and correctly apply it? Do you scan and post it and if anyone ever complains you take it down? Or does a backlog of these books simply build up in your office?
 
I suspect I am not the only Preservation operation with this question.  Perhaps you would respond to the list and we could try to get a nice conversation going on the topic??

Thank you,
 
Cathy
 

Cathleen L. Martyniak
Preservation Department
University of Florida Smathers Libraries
Gainesville, FL 32611
(voice) 352 273 2830
(fax) 352 392 6597
(email) cathy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx