[Phys-l] PSSC +- (c)

[John Denker <jsd@av8n.com>]

On 05/24/2009 02:24 PM, Bernard Cleyet wrote:
> I'm not a careful reader, so my thought is it's already passed into  
> the public domain if it wasn't renewed timely.

1) Initially, that struck me as an exceedingly implausible hypothesis.  
How could anybody "forget" to renew a copyright?

Also note that works first published in 1964 or later are 
protected for a very long term, whether or not renewed.


2) On the other hand, I just now did some checking.  I don't pretend
to have fully mastered the facts or the law, but is sure looks like
the first edition of the PSSC text, and many of the films, have passed 
into the public domain.

In contrast, later editions of the text (2nd through 7th) are still
protected by copyright AFAICT, and will remain so for many decades.


2a) Quoting from 
  http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ22.pdf

> Works First Published or Copyrighted Between January 1,
> 1950, and December 31, 1963 .... If not renewed, the copyright
> expired at the end of its 28th calendar year.

The first edition of the text came out in 1960.  FWIW there were some
preliminary versions before then.  Many of the films came out in 1960
or thereabouts.  The second edition of the text came out in 1965.


2b) After searching official records via http://cocatalog.loc.gov/
I find no indication of renewal for the first edition text or for any
of the films.

Note: I believe the title of the first edition was recorded as "Physics"
not "PSSC Physics".

Note: If you want to see what a non-null result looks like, do the
corresponding search for "Green Eggs and Ham" which was also first
published in 1960.  Note that the renewal (filed in 1988 of course)
is listed by the web site under the year 1960.  This makes it very
easy to spot in the listing.


3) Next step:  We ought to get an actual expert to check the law and
the facts on this.

Assuming that works out, then we should track down the cleanest available
copies of the films, digitize them, and put them up on a high-bandwidth
server somewhere.  And/or put them on DVD.

Also scan the book and make it available in pdf and/or djvu format.  It
should be a no-brainer to get funding for this.  Next year is the 50th
anniversary of the first edition.

  In particular:  Does anybody on this list have a copy of the first
  edition of the text?

Maybe the current copyright holder (Kendall/Hunt) would cooperate with
this project.

Maybe the MIT archives have clean masters or even negatives for the films.