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can you copyright public domain text if you....

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patenthelp

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Iowa

Lets suppose their is a book in public domain that is 1000 pages. You take that book and shorten it to about 100 pages and pick only the best best sentences from it. Thus, you got your owns version of the public domain book. So, my question is:

1. Can you copyright this new version of the book?

2. Can someone else also sell the same exact version of the book?
 


TheGeekess

TheGeekess

Keeper of the Kraken
patenthelp said:
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Iowa

Lets suppose their is a book in public domain that is 1000 pages. You take that book and shorten it to about 100 pages and pick only the best best sentences from it. Thus, you got your owns version of the public domain book. So, my question is:

1. Can you copyright this new version of the book?

2. Can someone else also sell the same exact version of the book?
Click to expand...
So you want to create a Reader's Digest Condensed Book? :cool:
 
FlyingRon

FlyingRon

Senior Member
The question here (a derived work of a public domain text) is whether your contribution qualifies as enough creative work to be protectable by copyright itself.
Copyright is something that arrises by law not something you get by sending off for in the mail.
I have my doubts that merely deleting passages from a public domain text would qualify as creative work enough to be protected.
 
justalayman

justalayman

Senior Member
where is the creativity in using excerpts from a book? A single sentence is as much copyright protected as the entire work so unless there is something the editor adds to the work that would make it something derived from the original yet not simply excerpts, it is not covered by copyright protection.


from one of the copyright office's many publications.

Compilations and Abridgments
Compilations and abridgments may also be copyrightable if they contain new
works of authorship. When the collecting of the preexisting material that makes
up the compilation is a purely mechanical task with no element of editorial
selection, or when only a few minor deletions constitute an
abridgment, copyright protection for the compilation or
abridgment as a new version is not available.
Click to expand...
additionally, when you do copyright a derivative work, the copyright protection applies to ONLY the additions, changes, or other new material appearing for the first time in the work. So, to answer you basic question: no, an edition created simply by paring down the original would not be covered by any copyright protections. Then, if you do create an actual work eligible for copyright protection, the only thing protected would be your additions, not simply the shorter version of the original.
 
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patenthelp

Junior Member
justalayman said:
where is the creativity in using excerpts from a book? A single sentence is as much copyright protected as the entire work so unless there is something the editor adds to the work that would make it something derived from the original yet not simply excerpts, it is not covered by copyright protection.


from one of the copyright office's many publications.



additionally, when you do copyright a derivative work, the copyright protection applies to ONLY the additions, changes, or other new material appearing for the first time in the work. So, to answer you basic question: no, an edition created simply by paring down the original would not be covered by any copyright protections. Then, if you do create an actual work eligible for copyright protection, the only thing protected would be your additions, not simply the shorter version of the original.
Click to expand...
Okay. Just to clarify, can you at least copyright chapters names no matter how many words they have?Example, if you have chapter names like 1. Love & happiness & peace and another chapter name like 2. God & Holy Spirit & You.

Can that be copyrighted?
 
FlyingRon

FlyingRon

Senior Member
patenthelp said:
Okay. Just to clarify, can you at least copyright chapters names no matter how many words they have?Example, if you have chapter names like 1. Love & happiness & peace and another chapter name like 2. God & Holy Spirit & You.

Can that be copyrighted?
Click to expand...
You can not copyright titles.

You have to understand, you have NO creative work here. You can not usurp something that is in the public domain by doing nothing but casual editing.
 
L

LegalBurgers

Member
With all due respect (none is due) you are stealing.

I run an online business and have to deal with people like you all the time.

I call them vultures.

Get a job. Stop trying to profit off of other people's creativity and hard work.

*Definitely* don't try to copyright it. Geez ...
 
Last edited:
FlyingRon

FlyingRon

Senior Member
He's not stealing anything, just engaging in wishful thinking. There's no copyright to be had here.
He's free to use the public domain text. Others are free to also use either the original text or what he has copied.
 
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