Adaptation of a Novel

[BlueParrot]

Quick question for those who are in the know.

How old must a work be before you can freely adapt a novel? I assume that all Shakespeare plays are fair game for loose or strict adaptation. The Bible. I know Tom Clancy novels are not.

Does anyone know how far back it must go before there is no strict copyright? I am thinking of modifying a story that was written around 1900.

[dhsteinberg]

It's actually quite complicated to determine the expiration of a copyright under the 1909 Copyright Act (because of renewals, death of the author, etc.), but as a general rule of thumb, use 75 years after first publication. Thus, anything published before 1926 should be in the public domain.

[Actor]

The Sonny Bono Law changed that. It is now 95 years after the date of first publication. However, the SBL did not reinstate copyright on any works that had already fallen into public domain. Since the SBL was passed in 1998 works first published before 1923 are public domain. The clock will start again in 2018.

BTW, the SBL is also known as the Mickey Mouse Law because the little rodent just squeaked in under it. MM would have been PD in 2000 w/o the SBL.

If a novel was first published after 1923 it still may be in public domain. For works first published after 1923 the law is more complicated because over the years a lot of changes were made regarding term of copyright, renewals and other considerations. You really need a copyright attorney to be sure.

If you are interested in a novel published in 1923 or later then go to the Library of Congress website and make an initial search yourself. (You will need TELNET) If your initial search indicates that the work may be PD then get the LOC to make a search. They will give you an estimate of the cost. If the LOC indicates the work is PD then go to a copyright attorney for a final determination.

All of this applies to United States law only. Laws in other countries are different.

[wcmartell]

There have been so many revisions of copyright law you meed a lawyer to figure these things out. The latest version is 75 years after the author's death - but what matters is what the law was when the work was first copyrighted and whether it has been renewed under newer laws. Used to be 28 years plus 28 year renewal - so most stuff up until about 1930 is in public domain... but new additions to existing work makes it "new" again, and copyright starts all over again. Some copyright holders have managed to renew under new laws by adding new material when the copyright expired. I think the Burroughs family has help on to Tarzan this way.
Meanwhile other works have fallen out of copyright due to mistakes or neglect - some of the pulp stories from the 1930-40s are out of copyright.

Anything pre-1900 is probably fair game... London, Poe, Kipling, etc.

But I think even if you adapt something in pd a producer is going to want to make sure you're legal before he even looks at it.

- Bill

[Actor]

I will stand by my assertion that 1923 is the magic year. Anything published before that year is public domain in the U.S. Any published in or after 1923 is iffy.

In the U.S. the date of the author's death no longer applies. Only the date of first publication matters.

I recommend Clearance and Copyright (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1879505304/qid=960268459/sr=1-1/104-2215345-8888708) by Michael C. Donaldson. My copy of Donaldson went to press before the Sonny Bono Law and so gives the 75 year rule. Maybe there is an updated printing.

Once public domain, always public domain. Copyright does not get restored by changes in the law. Not yet anyway. This is the reason that works first published between 1906 and 1923 are PD. They became PD before the SBL went into effect.

There have been cases where copyright has been restored, but these were individual cases where lawyers argued that the works should not have lost their copyright in the first place. The most famous such case involves the movie <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> It's a Wonderful Life<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->.

It might help if we knew what novel you want to adapt.

[BlueParrot]

I checked with IMDB. There have been several strict versions and several liberal interpretations of the work that I was thinking of. Plus it was written before the time period that you spoke of.

So I think I am clear now.

If you must know, it's a story about a young farm boy who discovers that his sworn enemy is really his father and that he has a twin sister who is a princess.

I was thinking of a John Williams score to accompany the movie.

[LeoSkins]

So I guess no matter what I am safe with my late seventeenth-century adaptation.