# Who owns the right to medieval or ancient writings? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 23, 2003, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-right-to-medieval-or-ancient-writings/214813 "2003-11-23T06:03:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-right-to-medieval-or-ancient-writings/214813/21 "2003-11-23T21:10:42Z")
So if I understand **Walloon** ’s post and Lolly Gasaway’s handy [chart](http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm) correctly, the U.S. in the past kept copyright running for unpublished works, but abolished it with the 1976 Copyright Act. So only for ‘old’ works published between 1-1-1978 and 12-31-2002 there is an additional copyright term extending to 2047. For ‘old’ previously unpublished works the U.S. does not grant any copyright protection anymore. Funny that the U.S. and the EU have a significant difference in this respect. Would have thought that this would have been mutually agreed on. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-right-to-medieval-or-ancient-writings/214813/22 "2003-11-23T21:21:02Z")
English lit type geek reporting in, with the Renaisssance starting promptly with Caxton’s introducing printing into England in 1475. In Europe generally, the date is 1455, when Gutenberg printed the first book. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-right-to-medieval-or-ancient-writings/214813/23 "2003-11-23T21:23:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tusculan \* > **So if I understand Walloon’s post and Lolly Gasaway’s handy [chart](http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm) correctly, the U.S. in the past kept copyright running for unpublished works** No, wrong. > [@](#): > > **For ‘old’ previously unpublished works the U.S. does not grant any copyright protection anymore.** No, wrong. For an unpublished work, the copyright term is the life of the author plus 70 years. For an unpublished work made anonymously or for hire, the term is 120 years from the date of creation. These terms apply to any unpublished work created **before** January 1, 1978, and any work created **on or after** January 1, 1978. In other words, these terms apply to **any unpublished work**. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-right-to-medieval-or-ancient-writings/214813/24 "2003-11-23T22:58:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Walloon \* > \*\*Fourteen used copies are available right now at [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com), starting at $8.95. Another copy is on sale at eBay. The public library in my medium-sized city has three copies. The library at the local university also has a copy. Not exactly impossible to get. \*\* Why, yes, yes I am. I am advocating that fans of the work be able to publish their own versions of it so long as they identify it as their work and not the original authors, without getting anyone’s permission to do so, as is the practice in Japan. A much better and fairer system than the one we have. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-right-to-medieval-or-ancient-writings/214813/25 "2003-11-24T02:47:25Z")
Let me correct part of what I wrote above, with apologies to **Tusculan**. The 1909 Copyright Act stated, > [@](#): > > Nothing in this title shall be construed to annul or limit the right of the author or proprietor of an unpublished work, at common law or in equity, to prevent the copying, publication, or use of such unpublished work without his consent, and to obtain damages therefor. Common law copyright for unpublished works was abolished by the 1976 Copyright Act (effective January 1, 1978), and replaced by statutory copyright limits, the terms of which I described above. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-right-to-medieval-or-ancient-writings/214813/26 "2003-11-24T03:11:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Evil Captor \* > \*\*Why, yes, yes I am. I am advocating that fans of the work be able to publish their own versions of it so long as they identify it as their work and not the original authors, without getting anyone’s permission to do so, as is the practice in Japan. > > A much better and fairer system than the one we have. \*\* Not to the authors. Don’t they count for something? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-right-to-medieval-or-ancient-writings/214813/27 "2003-11-24T04:22:05Z")
The authors in Japan seem happy with the way things work there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-right-to-medieval-or-ancient-writings/214813.md?page=1)