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Copyright/Public Domain Question

by Barry Davis
5 replies
I ran into some material that would work well in one of my niches. The material came to my attention specifically because the owner/author of the materials disclaims any copyright. This is what he says at the beginning of the actual document:

This material is offered for your personal edification and enrichment. There is no legal copyright on this material. I have used many sources, and I have always attempted to cite any exact quotations. Any failure to cite a quote is simply an oversight on my part.
It is followed by this:

I encourage you to use this material to stimulate your own imagination. You have my full permission to use any of this material as long as you cite the source for any substantial amount used in your document.
My question is this -- once you've declared "There is no legal copyright on this material" are you not placing it in the public domain? And if so (and I'm not sure that it is so) how can you place restrictions on it?

I am not wanting to do anything illegal or unethical and would appreciate your advice and/or experience with such matters.

Thanks,
Barry
#copyright #question
  • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
    Contact the author for clarification. What does he mean by "legal" copyright? Does he mean that he is not claiming any copyright on the work? Or, does it mean that he has not registered a copyright? He could be confusing "legal" with "registered." Or, it could mean that he intended to release it into the public domain. Or, perhaps he was still trying to claim a copyright, but allow a certain free license to use the work so long as he is credited.

    So, I'd contact the author before making any use of it.

    Otherwise, in the absence of certainty, stay far, far away!

    And, also be aware that, if you use his material, you become a publisher of that material and, as a publisher, you might be held liable for any of his "oversights" in citing references or quotations or accuracy in general.
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  • Profile picture of the author Anna Johnson
    I agree with Dan. The author may not understand the implications of saying 'there is no legal copyright on this material.' ('Legal copyright' is a tautology). What's more, in the next breath he says 'You have my full permission to use any of this material as long as you cite the source for any substantial amount used in your document' which indicates he wants to be cited as the source.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
    Sounds like a modified Creative Commons License.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kneb Knebaih
    Yes,

    Just ask him to clear things up.

    I think he himself is not really clear about his own terms...


    Anyway, you have freely available millions of real PD works out there... so you have to really think about if his material it´s worth your time.
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  • Profile picture of the author Barry Davis
    I wrote him. He said that while he is not copyrighting his works, he hopes someday to get it all printed as a book, so he doesn't want anyone else to sell it. I offered him a cut of the sales, but he was not interested.

    I still don't think he is clear on copyright, but I better leave this one alone.

    Thank you all for your help and advice.

    Barry
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