Rare book printing rights

ishare · Mar 23, 2012

Hi there!

I am not sure if this is the best place to ask this question but this forum seem so large...

My question is: I found a rare book first printed in 1978 and the hardcover/paperback is very rare. I have a PDF version from a friend which is OCR and quality is poor.

I want to know where can I check the ISBN for this book and see if it is on public domain now or if it is not, is there any chance to have rights to reprint this book? I also plan to release a quality online format for this book for Kindle and iPad/iPhone.

The book seem to have a copyright notice on one page saying that no part should be reproduced without the written permission of the Publisher. This version that I have was published by a publisher that was acquired by a major publishing house and also it says that the first work was published by a different publishing house.

I don't want to do anything stupid, I just like the book so much and I believe that many will benefit from it's content.

Wondering if anyone with experience in re-printing had gone through a similar situation.

Regards,
Rob

dangerousbill · Mar 23, 2012

It's still in copyright, so you have to contact the publisher or author.

It may take some time to track down the current copyright holder, and you may end up working with the author's estate. Make sure to get any commitments in writing, and be sure you're dealing with someone who actually has authority to give you permission to copy or extract.

If the copyright holder is the publisher (which was more common back then), the news may still not be so good. Chances are that the publisher is gone, or working under a different name.

I once had a hell of a time tracking down the copyright holder for a magazine article that was published in the 1950s. The current holder was a law firm, and when I asked permission, I was turned down flat.

ishare · Mar 23, 2012

Thank you Bill for your reply! Yes, I know I am going for a long run and complicated project but I simply love the book.

There is no way to track by ISBN and see if the copyright is valid or not?

Dozmonic · Mar 23, 2012

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-duration.html

As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years. For an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work, or a work made for hire, the copyright endures for a term of 95 years from the year of its first publication or a term of 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first

Different in different countries, but usually at least 50 years so you're looking at waiting a while yet.

Deleted member 42 · Mar 23, 2012

ishare said:
Thank you Bill for your reply! Yes, I know I am going for a long run and complicated project but I simply love the book.

There is no way to track by ISBN and see if the copyright is valid or not?

The copyright absolutely is valid.

What you need to discover is who has the print rights; it may be the original publisher, or they may have sold the rights, or sub-licensed them, or reverted them to the author.

You need to research the author and the publisher to discover who owns the print rights, and what they want in payment if they are willing to sub-license the rights to you.

Ketzel · Mar 23, 2012

I published a book in 1978 and I'm still a good way from filing for Social Security.

Is your author still among the living? He or she would most likely know who owns reprint rights, assuming it's not the author.

dangerousbill · Mar 23, 2012

ishare said:
Thank you Bill for your reply! Yes, I know I am going for a long run and complicated project but I simply love the book.

There is no way to track by ISBN and see if the copyright is valid or not?

ISBN is a private listing system for the convenience of booksellers.

Registered copyrights are listed with the copyright office, but an unregistered copyright has the same force. You can assume that there is a copyright in force unless the book has been deliberately placed in the public domain by the copyright holder.

You can always make a copy for yourself, not because it's legal, but because it wouldn't be worth pursuing an infringement action for one copy even if you were caught. But try selling it or even distributing for free, and you're courting trouble.

ishare · Mar 24, 2012

Yup. It's getting complicated but I will still give a try. I am thinking to re-write this book like an "updated version", adapted for nowadays...

I was trying to find a BIO for the author but not even Wikipedia knows this guy

I will make some calls to the publishing house on Monday and see if I can get anything from them.

Birol · Mar 24, 2012

Yeah... You really need to do some research on copyright and plagiarism.

Wikipedia isn't the end all of knowledge. Have you called your local library and asked for assistance?

What's the name of the author? You can never tell; someone here might know something.

Old Hack · Mar 24, 2012

You can't reprint the book because you're not the original publisher. Only the original publisher can do a reprint: if anyone else does it, it'll be a new edition and not a reprint.

You can't republish the book becuase you're not the original publisher, and so not only do you not have the rights to do that, you don't have the required page separations (we're talking 1978, so there won't be digital files) to do that reprint with.

You can't legally write a new edition of the book and publish that because you're not the original author, you don't have the permissions or rights to do this, and so if you did rewrite it and you attempted to publish the resulting work, you'd have plagiarised the original work.

As others have suggested, you need to research how copyright works, how print rights work, and what plagiarism is. And then consider writing your own book, and not someone else's.

Terie · Mar 24, 2012

ishare said:
I am thinking to re-write this book like an "updated version", adapted for nowadays...

Birol said:
You really need to do some research on copyright and plagiarism.

What Birol said. What you're talking about doing is plagiarism (which is immoral and unethical) and copyright infringement (which is a criminal offence). Is that really the road you want to go down?

I get that you love this book and would like to lift it out of obscurity. But it doesn't belong to you, and you don't actually get to make that choice.

ishare · Mar 24, 2012

I got it. You are all right. I don't plan to get into trouble so I decided to go ahead and write my own book on the same topic.

What about the name of the book? Will I be able to use a similar name? Let's say the original book name is The Art of Driving, will I be able to use The Art of Driving Revealed?

Thank you!

BenPanced · Mar 24, 2012

Titles can't be copyrighted (I believe, in some cases, they may be trademarked, which is a whole other kettle of worms), so you should be okay.

Old Hack · Mar 24, 2012

So you're going to write your own book, but you're going to recycle the other book's title? Why not go the whole hog and write everything new?

Birol · Mar 24, 2012

I still wish the OP wouldn't be so cagey about naming the book or the author. One of the ways to lift it out of obscurity would be to share such information with others.

ishare · Mar 24, 2012

This is a great forum. I am new here, I am new to writing as well, English is not my mother language but I still have a good feeling that I am in the very perfect place (AW) based on the feedback received from all of you.

Regarding the book, the Author is R.B. Sparkman and his book is The Art of Manipulation. Based on Amazon book description I found the following: Hardcover Publisher: Doubleday (October 1979), ISBN-10: 0385270070, ISBN-13: 978-0385270076

The techniques thought are well outdated if we want to apply to the standard of living on nowadays but the basic concept of manipulation described in the book is still valid. I was always fascinated about people and how everyone tick. The Art of Manipulation is a very good book that describes the principle in plain words, in such way that any person will be able to understand the concept, either if the reader is well educated or the opposite.

I am not here to offend anyone, neither to ignore the best practices on the industry, I am new and I want to learn.

It is not that I will recycle the book, I have many things to add but the main concept is the same, I am sure that all of us here will agree that unless a concept is proved to be wrong there is nothing to do to change the people thinking. Now, here is me. I will write about the concept of manipulation and this doesn't mean I will just copy/paste the book named above, either though this book served me as good inspiration to start from.

Torgo · Mar 24, 2012

There's a Ricky Sparkman who is a director of a Texas corporation called RB Sparkman, Inc. There's also apparently a Ricky Sparkman living in Liberty Hill, Texas.

The book seems to have been published by a couple of Random House, Inc imprints, so I think they would be your first port of call. If they've reverted publishing rights to Mr Sparkman, you could try approaching him directly to see who now holds them.

IceCreamEmpress · Mar 24, 2012

Torgo, I bet that's the same R.B. Sparkman. The approximate age and location and industry all match fairly well (per the Kirkus Reviews review of the book when it was published, the author was a business consultant who got burned by folks in the energy industry in Houston, Texas).

mscelina · Mar 24, 2012

There is no way legally that you can recycle any part of this book without running into a heap of legal trouble. The author is still alive, the copyright will be valid for 70 years after his death--and on top of that, there's a REASON that book is so rare. If this was written in 1978 and the book is now rare, that's more than likely because the book didn't sell.

However, I find myself curious--what qualifications do you bring to the table for a revival of this book? What relevant degrees or experience do you have that make you a qualified instructor of the grand art of manipulation? Because, quite frankly, if your only qualification is "I love this book" then no one is going to be interested in your reprise of the original, even if you find a way to make the material entirely your own instead of balancing on the edge of plagiarism. Without any sort of relevant credentials, you'll be spending your time writing a book that no agent/publisher will be interested to read/buy.

HoneyBadger · Mar 24, 2012

You could always write a novel about a master manipulator.

James D. Macdonald · Mar 24, 2012

The obvious first choice is to write to Sparkman. Perhaps he'd be interested in releasing a new version himself?

MJNL · Mar 24, 2012

People seem to be getting copyright infringement and plagiarism confused--it's only plagiarism if you claim to have written it when you didn't. Reproducing a written work that you do not have permission to reproduce (ie. The right to copy--copyright), though still attributing its authorship to the proper party, is copyright infringement of another sort.

Not all plagiarism is copyright infringement, and not all copyright infringement is plagiarism.

Terie · Mar 24, 2012

MJNL said:
People seem to be getting copyright infringement and plagiarism confused--it's only plagiarism if you claim to have written it when you didn't. Reproducing a written work that you do not have permission to reproduce (ie. The right to copy--copyright), though still attributing its authorship to the proper party, is copyright infringement of another sort.

Not all plagiarism is copyright infringement, and not all copyright infringement is plagiarism.

The first few posts by the OP include both. The following post is the one where the OP's idea veers into plagiarism territory (bolding mine):

ishare said:
Yup. It's getting complicated but I will still give a try. I am thinking to re-write this book like an "updated version", adapted for nowadays...

Rewriting someone else's book in an 'updated' form without the author's permission actually is plagiarism.

Susan Coffin · Mar 25, 2012

If you have the qualifications, why not just write your own with your own title, spin, and experience?

Or, if you have the qualifications, you could always contact the author and commiserate with him about collaborating on an updated book.

ishare · Mar 25, 2012

I will call tomorrow the author and discuss this matter. Thank you all!

Rare book printing rights

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