Pre 1930 Copy Rights - Biz Scam or Does He Have Something?

[M.D. Holloway]

I met a guy this weekend that I think is running a scam but it may only be on the fringe. He takes rare books that are pre 1930 and copies them, binds them and then sells them on e-bay and Amazon as reproductions. He says it is legal because he does it with books that are pre 1930 when there were no copy right laws.

Seems kinda slimy but he claims it is legit. Any ideas?

[YTNUKLR]

I thought it was 100 years before books go out of copyright, but I've been wrong before.

[Christien]

Copyright on a work expires 50 years after the creator (author, composer) dies. The tricky area is that "editorial markings" can have renewed copyrights. Publishers can renew their copyright on a book, which would prevent someone from literally photocopying it, but you could, say, type it out yourself and distribute it freely if the author's more than 50 years in the ground. I learned this with music where, for example, a Beethoven sonata may have no copyright on the actual notes and rhythms, but editors who add their own fingerings, bowings, phrase markings or dynamic markings would have a copyright on those edits.

I'm sure lawyers will find a way to control copyright on popular music long after 50 years post-death of the band members/songwriters, but I don't think any recordings have reached that age yet.