Thursday, October 21, 2010

What about out of print charts...?


Val:
My friend has a chart I dearly love but she won't part with it because it is out of print She has offered to make me a copy but I refused. Now I'm wondering if maybe it would have been alright since I can't find it in any of the needlework stores.

Auntie Robbin:
Out of print doesn't mean "out of copyright". The terms are not interchangeable and more than likely, the copyright still applies. Out of print charts show up on auctions so you can try that approach or write to the copyright holder and see what they say. You may just be lucky enough to hear that they still have a few copies left or would be willing to reprint a chart if the current demand was great enough. 

The Law says this:
In General. — Copyright in a work created on or after January 1, 1978, subsists from its creation and, except as provided by the following subsections, endures for a term consisting of the life of the author and 70 years after the author's death. This law can be found here: http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap3.html

2 comments:

  1. I know someone who regularly emails charts to people. I have told her NOT to send me anymore, but I know she still sends to a few people. What can I do about that? It really irritates me that she continues to do this!
    Thank you.

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  2. Ensure she knows your thoughts on the subject and try to educate her, showing her links to relevant sources.

    ReplyDelete