Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[KVND]

Two of my grand-relatives had published works, both self-published but copyrighted.  My family was not aware when the first copyright lapsed, a publisher found it and it has since been selling slowly but steadily from Barnes & Noble shelves.  We don't want that to happen with the other book, no one has picked it up yet.  How does a descendent of a currently non-published author's book go about obtaining the rights to publish?

[mactheknife]

That's a tricky question.

First off, you first say the grand-relative had "self-published" the work, but then you talk about the book as if it is "currently non-published."  It either has been published or it hasn't.  Which is it?

Also, if the copyright in fact "lapses" it means that the work is in the public domain, which means anyone can publish the work--even more than one publisher.  Think about all the different versions of Charles Dickens' novels.  If the second copyright has "lapsed" you're s.o.l.  At the same time, no one can stop you from publishing the second book (or even the first one).

If it hasn't lapsed (which can mean different things depending on when a work was created or published), the next step is finding out whether you own or co-own the copyright in the second book.  Figuring this out involves working through the laws of inheritance, which I guarantee can't be done on a board such as this.  If you are, you can publish the book.  If you aren't, you have to ask permission from the relatives who do own the copyright.

Stopping another publisher from publishing the second book is a different matter altogether.  If you own the copyright yourself, it's easy.  Just say no.  If you are only a co-owner, you have to get all co-owners to agree not to sell the publishing rights to another publisher.  If you're neither a sole owner nor the co-owner, you also have to convince the owner(s) not to do so.