A little help with eBook rights issue...

I would treat them as educational pieces..

With no information about rights etc.. you can't just assume they are PLR.. if you can't contact the creator's then you just have to accept that they are for educational purposes...

Of course, with your new found education, it shouldn't be too difficult to make your own guides, right?

Peace

Jay

No, it's not ok to use them as your own. Especially since there is no copyright notice--the works could be original to the author, or you may have uncovered a plagarized or stolen piece of 'property' here, intellectual property. If the author is still living, as you have indicated, the copyright protection is most certainly in place for the property, even absent a notice on the item. Proceed with caution here--IMO you should not use the books.

Here's a link to the copyright office. I like it because the answers are in 'plain english' and easy to understand.

U.S. Copyright Office - Frequently Asked Questions

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Two relevant clips from the site:

When is my work protected?
Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created.

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There are a bunch of other rules that govern 'fair use' and how a copyrighted item can be used, but, that's getting into a bit more work and research than you probably need in this case.

Your best scenario would be to assume that the work is copyrighted and to not use the work at all. Create a bit of new content and shift the ideas in the work, use a different outline, and poof! a completely new product has just been created by YOU, the copyright holder for the new work.