Re: fifty year rule

On Tue, 22 Oct 1996 07:28:59 +0000 J.Hart[_at_]auckland.ac.nz (Jenny Hart) wrote:
>
> 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 ?

In the US an idea from a story can be used regardless. Copyright protects expression of the ideas, not the ideas themselves (to the extent these can be separated).

And, copyright expires X years after the death of the author (X depending on when the stories were written and copyrighted). The Estate holds the rights after death and before expiration of the copyright.

HOWEVER, I have utterly no idea what happens under New Zealand law.

Harold Federow
<hfederow[_at_]u.washington.edu> Received on Wed Oct 23 1996 - 17:28:31 GMT