Re: a question on scanning

[Peter Hirtle <pbh6@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 08:41 AM 11/6/2009 -0700, Hudock, Sandy L wrote:
>One of my colleagues is trying to find out the copyright status on this title
>in order to be able to scan it for use by a visually disabled student at our
>university:
>
>Title: The story of Teapot Dome.

Sandy:

In Copyright & Cultural Institutions 
(http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1495365), I 
present a workflow that can be followed when thinking about digitization.

In this case, I would start by asking if the 1924 original is in the 
public domain (and is the reason why Burt Franklin reprinted it).  I 
find no evidence that the 1924 book was renewed for copyright, so I 
believe we can assume that it is public domain.  The title has 
already been digitized by California and is in the Hathi Trust 
collection (albeit closed), but I would contact them using the 
procedures on their help page to see if they could immediately 
release this as an open work.

If you really want to digitize the reprint, you next have to ask 
whether Burt Franklin added any new copyrighted content when it 
published the reprint.  The book does not show up in the Stanford or 
Copyright Office databases (though the latter is from 1978), which 
suggests to me that the work was never registered for 
copyright.  This greatly reduces any potential harm that could accrue 
by digitizing it.  I would look and see, however, if it was published 
with a copyright notice.  If it was, then I would check and see if 
there was any new content since that is the only stuff that could be protected.

Lastly, don't forget Section 121 of the Copyright Act.  Under this 
section, it is not an infringement to reproduce "published, 
nondramatic literary work if such copies... are reproduced or 
distributed in specialized formats exclusively for use by blind or 
other persons with disabilities."  "Specialized formats" includes 
"braille, audio, or digital text which is exclusively for use by 
blind or other persons with disabilities."  This would suggest to me 
that you could make a digital copy of the work for the use of the 
student so long as it is for that student's exclusive use.





Peter B. Hirtle
US History and General History Bibliographer
Senior Policy Advisory
Cornell University Library
221 Olin Library
Ithaca, NY  14853
peter.hirtle@xxxxxxxxxxx
t.  607.255-4033
f.  607/255-2493

Purchase request: http://www.library.cornell.edu/services/purchase.html