publishing Burgess and Rutherford books online/copyright?

[a mere housewife]

Yesterday Rev. Winzer recommended some puritan books on the law/gospel distinction (Vindiciae Legis by Anthony Burgess and Spiritual Antichrist by Samuel Rutherford): I couldn't find them online, but found them scanned from old books on some cds Ruben has from SWRB. I am wondering about copyright information --does SWRB own the copyright on these scanned materials or are they, as they would otherwise be, 'public domain'? If there are no copyright issues -- is it possible to upload them somewhere, as I think that others might like to have access to them as well?

 

[greenbaggins]

They are available on Early English Books Online for a fee. There is some question about whether SWRB just took out a subscription to EEBO and copied those files to a CD and sold them. The books themselves are all in the common domain. However, the downloadable files themselves are part of EEBO's website. This is why I have always felt a little edgy about getting SWRB's products.

 

[a mere housewife]

I did see them on that website, but it looks like - unless I'm misunderstanding this list (Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership) the Vindiciae Legis was added in Feb of 2006 (?) and Ruben has had the cds since before then.

What implications would that have as regards copyright on the scanned files I have?

[added: EEBO doesn't allow private individuals to pay for texts or to have a subscription: one would have to go through their partnering institutions, listed here: http://www.lib.umich.edu/tcp/eebo/proj_stat/ps_partners.html)

 

[a mere housewife]

just a ps with further info: I don't know what kind of copyright laws one is dealing with from the UK, but the US copyright laws appear not to extend to reproductions of anything not protected by copyright, as copyright is not to protect 'sweat of brow' but originality - (http://supreme.justia.com/us/499/340/case.html: I realize this case is dealing with uncopyrightable facts, but if a book is now in the common domain I think it would be in the same unprotected category)?

 

[ADKing]

Somewhat from copyright laws, but just an FYI for those of you who are interested... At some point in the future, the Westminster Assembly Project will be making Burgess' work available again. I am presently doing transcription work on that book and finding it very profitible and edifying.

 

[NaphtaliPress]

It's not a copyright issue per se that I can see, but more of a licensing one. The books in general are out of copyright but the images are of particular examples from various libraries etc. for which EEBO obtained specific permission to reproduce for their online collection. Thus they prohibit reproduction of their images online.

 

[DMcFadden]

Heidi, you acted in good faith in obtaining them. However, since learning that there was a controversy about the propriety of SWRB's use of them, and that distributing them WOULD be a legal no-no, I have not done any ordering from SWRB since then. However, since EEBO is offering a handsome finders fee for turning in the miscreants with the purloined materials, I am delighted by your confession! Now I can afford to get them from EEBO.

 

[a mere housewife]

Thank you for the responses. I looked at the title page of the scan I have of the Rutherford book and it is 'reproduced from the copy in the Henry E Huntington Library' and is 'for reference only, not for reproduction'-- that makes sense with the distinction between copyright and licensing.

PS. Mr. McFadden, I'm actually an EEBO bounty hunter here under the guise of being a housewife. The whole point of my interactions has been to get you to confess. BWAHAHAHAHA.

 

[ChristianTrader]

It's not a copyright issue per se that I can see, but more of a licensing one. The books in general are out of copyright but the images are of particular examples from various libraries etc. for which EEBO obtained specific permission to reproduce for their online collection. Thus they prohibit reproduction of their images online.

So if someone was to retype or or somehow convert those images to text, there would be no problem?

CT

 

[NaphtaliPress]

Correct; the images are protected. If you transcribed it that is fine you can do with that what you wish (though you cannot really copyright an exact transcription, so it pays to add critical work to it if you want to protect it and sell it, speaking as a publisher. ).