Rights when publisher no longer exists?

[Beth Secrist <bsecrist@xxxxxxx>]

Has anyone had experience with what happens to copyright when the publisher no
longer exists and no one has apparently purchased their rights? We have a video
"Spanish TV Commercials. Vol I" published by Gessler Publishing Co. I phoned them
and they are no longer in business. The company that answered at their number had
purchased their inventory, but not the rights to their publications. We would like
to digitize this video. What can we do?

Beth Secrist
Director, Language Resource Center
Dept. of Modern Foreign Langs. & Lits.
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996
(865)974-6494; bsecrist@xxxxxxx
http://web.utk.edu/~mfll/LRC/