Book publishers

[Chuck Guzis]

On 30 Jan 2007 at 21:53, Evan Koblentz wrote:

> It's all right here: http://www.macmillan.com/Permissions.asp but you have
> to figure out (or leave it up to them to figure out) which Macmillan
> division applies to the publication you're looking to republish.  From my
> experience, you should strongly emphasize that you're a hobbyist and/or
> researcher, and that your intended use is strictly educational and
> non-commercial.

Well, good luck with that.  I've had my fill of experience with the 
music publishers--you find an old piece, say, from 1932 and you want 
to get a legal copy.  So you write the publisher and get the response 
that "sorry, it's out of print--and you may not copy an existing 
copy".  Okay, you ask them if they can sell you a reprint--the 
response can vary from "no, we don't do reprints" to "yes, we do 
reprints, and our fee is $150 per page for a barely-readable 
photocopy"

Don't be surprised of Macmillian gives you flat-out "no".

Such is the state of affairs as regards copyright.  I keep telling 
myself that surely, this can't be what was intended by the founding 
fathers.  Consider that our national anthem was a bald-faced ripoff 
of an English drinking society song.

But then, that was then and this is now.

Cheers,
Chuck