fifty year rule

My question relates to copyright in the estate of an author and comes from a colleague An author of short stories died more than fifty years ago but in this particular collection it says copyright is with the Estate., My colleague wonders is it permissable to use an idea from one of these stories in a completely different setting and maybe different medium or does permission have to be obtained from the author's estate? Is it any differentfrom taking a plot idea from one of Shakespeare's plays and using it in say a novel? How does the fifty year rule apply ?

Jenny Hart

Jenny Hart
Undergraduate reader services librarian
University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019 Auckland
New Zealand
PH. 64-9-3737599(ex 8053) Received on Mon Oct 21 1996 - 20:02:27 GMT