Copyright on out of print documents

[Chris Raper]

On 10 Nov 2000 21:51:33 GMT, alan5319 at aol.com (Alan and Jeri Coates)
wrote:

Hi Alan

>The second half of the group appeared in Ray Society .....Vol II.
>This book is elusive. 

Elusive is an understatement! :-)  Volume one is easy to source but
volume 2 is nigh-on impossible - I have been on dealers waiting lists
for about 5 years now and no-one has got in touch to say a copy has
come onto the market in that time. To be honest I have given up on the
group and moved on to 'pastures new'!  :-(

>I gained access to a copy and thought that it may help if I established a web
>site and made these plates available to all. 
>Unfortunately the Ray Society - the publishers of the origional book - are
>concerned about this and have asked me to remove the links to the site. This I
>have done.

That's a shame - the Ray Society have had plenty of time to re-print
the second volume and must be aware of the need for it. I also don't
see how they could benefit from the second-hand price being high
either - but perhaps they have plans for a re-print and don't want the
potential market scuppered by a 'free' version being available
on-line?

My advice would be to ask the Ray Society for their permission - I
don't know the sequence of events but did you ask first before making
the web site? If you state that this is non-profit making and that you
are doing it to make the information available to the scientific
community they should let you do it. That is, unless they have plans
to re-print OR the artist has retained copyright and doesn't want his
work reproduced. I have asked publishers for the right to copy plates
and they have been very helpful - even to the extent of giving me a
proper 'licence' to do it - for free. But they usually have to check
with everyone down the line (artist, author etc) to see if they have
made any exclusions in the contract they signed.

Best wishes,
Chris R.

 
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