[digital-copyright] RE: public domain/searching copyright records

["Colson, Jeannie" <jcolson@xxxxxxx>]

I'm delighted to say that Dave Hansen pointed me to the Stanford
copyright renewal database.
http://collections.stanford.edu/copyrightrenewals/bin/page?forward=home

It covers renewals from 1950 to 1992.

The book is not there. So....public domain, right?

~Jeannie



-----Original Message-----
From: Croft, Janet B. [mailto:jbcroft@xxxxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2012 3:35 PM
To: Colson, Jeannie; digital-copyright@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: public domain/searching copyright records

Maybe check to see if the author is still alive or published with
another publisher?

How "make use of"? Could it be construed as fair use, not requiring
permission?

Janet

Janet Brennan Croft
Associate Professor
Head of Access Services
University of Oklahoma Libraries
Bizzell 106NW
Norman OK 73019
405-325-1918
Fax 405-325-7618
jbcroft@xxxxxx
http://ou.academia.edu/JanetCroft
http://libraries.ou.edu/
Editor of Mythlore http://www.mythsoc.org/mythlore.html
Book Review Editor of Oklahoma Librarian
http://www.oklibs.org/oklibrarian/current/index.html
"Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the rising ape
meets the falling angel." -Terry Pratchett


-----Original Message-----
From: Colson, Jeannie [mailto:jcolson@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2012 3:26 PM
To: digital-copyright@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [digital-copyright] public domain/searching copyright records

Ideas, colleagues?



A faculty member wants to make use of a book published in 1943. Books
published then were copyrighted for 28 years, unless renewed. The
renewal year, then, should have been 1971. Copyright.gov's search begins
with 1978, so is not helpful. Google, interestingly, provides the
"Catalog of Copyright Entries" that includes the original registration
with the copyright office, but not for anything after that. Publisher
doesn't seem to exist since mid-1960s.



Copyright office charges a minimum of $165 to do a search. Would you?
Would you be willing to risk that renewal wasn't done and that the item
is public domain?



Note: I can find images of first 6 pages (up to toc) in one university
library's website, but no full text anywhere.



What do you think? What's my next step?



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeannie Colson

Campus Copyright Advisor/Dist. Ed. Librarian

Lee College

Baytown, TX 77522

jcolson@xxxxxxx

281-425-6497