Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California
Book reprint when copyright owner not found
I am a publisher putting together a book of quotations, but cannot find the sources for all of the quotes. What is the legal situation if, in good faith, one has tried to find the copyright holder but has been unsuccessful, and then goes ahead with reprinting the material? In this case, the source is from the 1940s - the original publisher no longer exists and is not traceable.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Book reprint when copyright owner not found
If, after good faith attempts to attribute the quote to its author, the author is unknown to you, just list it as "author unknown" and proceed.
By the way a copyright lasts much longer than seven years, as a prior poster stated. Copyrights prior to 1978 lasted 28 years renewable for an additional 28 years. They now last life plus 50 years for individuals, 75 years from publication or 100 years from creation (whichever is longer) for businesses.
Burce Burdick
Re: Book reprint when copyright owner not found
A copyright only lasts for 7 years. If the original quote was published in the 1940's and the author is probably dead than the copyright probably has not been renewed. My opinion is that it would be ok to publish your quotes. Even if the author is still alive, if the copyright has not been renewed in the last seven years than you can do anything you want with the information.
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