As I understand it, a work is copyrighted for 50 years after the author’s death. I would expect that after that period of time, a book would be fair game for gutenberg.org and other free etext websites.
I love the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I have read my “real” copies of them until they have fallen apart. Rather than buy new physical versions, I’d like to have e-versions of them.
Laura Ingalls Wilder died in 1957, so it seems like the books would have come into the public domain in 2007. But there aren’t any etext versions.
Maybe her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, who died in 1968, is considered to be the author of the books even though she generally isn’t listed?
What is going on is that your understanding is flawed.
U.S. works written under the Copyright Act of 1909 were, if properly marked and registered, protected for 28 years, at which time the owner could renew for an additional 28 year term. But works that were under protection when the '76 Act came into effect (1/1/78, IIRC) were granted an additional 19 years of the copyright term, and then the Bono Act in, what, '98?, gave them yet another 20 year term. So material created after 1923, so long as it was properly registered and marked and, if created before 1950, was renewed for the second term, is still under copyright today.
Works created after the '76 Act were subject to the life + 50 years term (or 75 years flat for corporately created works), which was increased to life + 70/95 years flat by the Bono Act.
The first of her books, Little House in the Big Woods, was first published in 1932 – which I believe means it and the rest are all subject to “life of the author + 70 years” rule (in the U.S.). (See the Copyright Term Extension Act.) So the first book will enter the public domain in 2027 at the earliest.
But probably Exapno Mapcase or ascenray will be along to give better answers.
My admittedly faulty recollection of copyright is that as long as there is an heir or estate, copyright for a work can be renewed/passed down. According to this site, Rose Wilder Lane designated a man named Roger MacBride as her heir, and he thus became the copyright owner.
It appears that MacBride died in 1995 and left the estate to his daughter (just an article snip unless you have a subscription).
Sooo…my suspicion is you’ll be waiting while for free etext versions.
I think these works, being post-1923 works but pre-1978 works, are protected for 95 years from the date of publication. But don’t hold me to that. Calculating copyright terms for pre-1978 works always confuses me.
Here’s the handy-dandy chart of when works go into the public domain. [Termination status is for the copyright owner only. It does not affect public domain date.]
So the first seven books were published between 1932 and 1941, giving them a P + 95 years until they become public domain. The first one doesn’t enter public domain until January 1, 1927. The eighth book, from 1943, also has a 95 year life. The posthumous books have a variety of lengths.
Therefore, none of the original books are subject to the time of the author’s death rule.
Ownership of copyright can be sold or bequeathed. However, neither changes the length of time of copyright. It merely indicates who is in charge of making decisions about the work.
It’s very possible that Project Gutenberg Australiawill mount the Little House books online long before the U.S. copyright expires. They have done with *Gone With the Wind *, The Great Gatsby, and Animal Farm among other books that are still copyright protected in the U.S. but public domain in other nations.
I was reading Allison “Nellie Olsen” Angram’s book Confessions of a Prairie Bitch (a great read, if you had any interest in the show you will love this book) and in it she said, that Michael Landon could only buy the rights to some of the books and not others so that is why they had to change storylines away from the books.
So I wonder if one person holds the rights to all the books or what
Actually Marxxx, IIRC Ed Friendly owned the TV rights to the books and he partnered with Landon on the series. Then Ed and Mike had a falling out and Ed kept the rights covering Laura’s life from about age 16 on which left Mike to make shit up for the series.
According to the Copyright database, Little House in the Big Woods (the first in the series) had its copyright renewed in 1953. That would put it under copyright when the law was changed. That means its copyright extends 95 years from the original publication in 1932.
Since Ingalls died in 1957, 70 years from her death would be 2027. So her first book would not go into public domain any sooner, but the other seven would presumably become available then, assuming no further change in their law.
Hijack: I totally loved that book. I’d recommend it not just to fans of the TV series but fans of good memoirs involving the 1970s/1980s. (Makes you really really hate her brother though.) Anybody who can write about being sexually abused AND make you laugh on the same page has talent.
Bugger. If she’d died at a more reasonable 80 then she’d already be up there. It’s weird with authors like her and Twain and Mitchell that they still generate income so many years later for people they never knew and aren’t even closely related to (no relation at all in the case of Twain and Ingalls-Wilder; for Mitchell it’s her brother’s descendants).
Not that anyone cares, but I so better get Arngrim’s book for Christmas. I’ve been hinting pretty hard. If we hadn’t had the crazy year we had, I would have bought it awhile back, but whatever.
I met Arngrim once, when visiting the Wilder home in Missouri. She was hilarious in her talk, and also really personable to talk to. It’s one of the moments I’ll always remember, I think, because she came to us instead of the other way around. A friend of mine and I were just relaxing on the grounds of the house, at a picnic bench, and Arngrim was surrounded by autograph seekers. One by one they all left and she was alone at her table, walked over to us, and said “Hi, I’m Allison, mind if I join you?” Then sat and talked to us for awhile, until people started showing up again. This was right before she got married, so was asking us all about our weddings, and, as none of us had children, discussing the possibility and when we all wanted to start.
