Why isn't anyone else publishing the Oxford dictionaries?

[Dreaming of Maria Callas]

Oxford University Press publishes three dictionaries which are considered some of the finest in the world. They are Lewis and Short's Latin Dictionary, Lidell and Scott's Greek Lexicon, and of course the Oxford English Dictionary.

However, these are all pretty old (although updates to the OED appear frequently), and they first appeared before the 1920's. Thus, I assume they aren't under copyright any longer. Why aren't there any other publishers of these?

(Monier Williams' Sanskrit dictionary is published by Oxford, but can be had - legally? - on CD-ROM from other sources).

Some might say the demand isn't high enough. But when a work like Lidell and Scott sells for 250 euros, someone out there is going to think it worth it to sell it for 100. The Plena Ilustrita Vortaro, the most complete dictionary of Esperanto, sells for about 100 euro. A few years ago some entrepreneurs in Iran decided to sell their own illegally copied edition for much cheaper, and it sold quite well.

UnuMondo

[MC Master of Ceremonies]

We've got a very old Lidell and Scott and it truly is a mighty tome.
A proper OED is absolutely huge, I saw one that must of been published in the 70's and it was about 15 very large volumes. I don't think there is much of a gap in the market for these things, the only large company that I can find that still publishes Greek books is Oxford University Press.

[Dreaming of Maria Callas]

Originally posted by MC Master of Ceremonies
A proper OED is absolutely huge, I saw one that must of been published in the 70's and it was about 15 very large volumes.

There is also a one-volume edition which one uses with a magnifying glass.

UnuMondo

[RealityChuck]

The OED is also online, though it's only available by subscription. My public library has one; maybe yours does, too.

I'd expect the dictionaries to still be under copyright. A dictionary is usually an ongoing project, and even though the first edition would in theory be PD, any updated versions would have a later copyright date and would still be available.

I also expect that since the dictionaries are highly specialized, no one wants to take on the risk of printing it.

[samclem]

The last version of the OED was 1989. The new one, which is being compiled currently, is due out in 2010. And the cost is astronomical. I don't believe it has entered public domain.

[SmackFu]

The Greek-English Lexicon is online (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057).

So is Lewis & Short (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059).

[APB]

The first edition of the OED is out of copyright, although this is a fact about which Oxford University Press like to keep very quiet.

There would presumably be some sort of market for a cheap CD or online version of the first edition, perhaps aimed at private individuals, but in this field the real money is to be made from institutional purchasers who will always prefer the updated version. There is also the complication that the OUP have trademarked the word 'Oxford'.

[Master Wang-Ka]

Well, yeah... but if you had a choice between buying a complete OED, and buying some other version of basically the same thing, which would be equally huge and prolly about as costly...

...wouldn't YOU just say the heck with it and buy the real McCoy?