Copyright legality versus preservation of VIC20 books

Richard James · Post by **Richard James** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 5:58 am

I have a old VIC20 book that I never really used when i had a working VIC20. The title is "Blast Off with BASIC GAMES for Your VIC-20" by David D. Busch.

The book has 25 type ins. I have put some of the first up on my website. And eventually I want to have them all listed. How legal is that copyright wise. Consider that I live in Australia and my Web Host currently is in the USA.

Also I would like to scan the book in because it contains flowcharts for every program. However I believe that in order to share that I would need to contact the author or publisher? Does any one else know about this sort of thing?

pitcalco · Post by **pitcalco** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:21 am

That material is copyrighted and cannot legally be copied without permission of the copyright holder which is either the author himself, his publisher or the two of them together depending on the contract between them.

Your first step is to contact the publisher, if it still exists. If the book is out-of-print and you explain that you want to use it for your own personal use, even a website, they will likely tell you to go ahead. To be safe, you should request that they send you written permission.

Problem is, that some such publishers no longer exist. Then in that case you need to try to find the writer to get permission.

In practice, you are not likely to have much trouble if you just go ahead and make copies of such deprecated materials, however if the copyright holder does decide to be crotchity, you have no defence.

A copyright lasts the life of the originator plus 50 or 70 years, depending on a few factors. Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as material that was "not copyrighted" or "copyright cancelled." The only way around a copyright restriction is if the original copyright holder himself makes a formal written declaration to his country's property and patent registration office that he releases his material to the public domain. Once in the public domain, it can never be the private domain of any one entity again.

As for the matter of what countries you might be in, copyright laws bear down universally except for in Madagascar and Iran. So unless you plan to do some serious VICing in an exotic and/or dangerous millieu I suggest you make a few long distance phone calls and get the permission which you are most certainly bound to get without much pain.

Mayhem · Post by **Mayhem** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:34 am

Are you typing in the games? They may be needed for Gamebase20

Richard James · Post by **Richard James** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:21 pm

I don't think the publisher still exists. However I believe the Author still writes computer books. Also does that copyright apply to the actual "type in" itself? or just to the book?

Yes I am typing them all in I should be finished by June.

He has over a million books sold, his own page on Wikipedia. It appears he has moved from computer books to digital photography. Which means that searching via google for his contact details is gonna be hard.

pitcalco · Post by **pitcalco** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:57 am

Your type-in efforts are what is considered a "derived work". As the original work is still under copyright, typing-in and redistributing must be done by consent.

There are services that can track down copyright holders. You might have to go through a lawyer.

What you can do is this: Type-in the programs; distribute the programs are you wish (but NOT printed copies of the code) and then clearly indicate that you are offering the SERVICE OF TYPING and that all reights are reserved by the original copyright holder. This is not a 100 % guarantee, but if it is made clear that you want to respect the copyright, you are far less likely to get any grief.

PaulQ · Post by **PaulQ** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:37 am

Here's what I'd do. I'd type them in, making sure to give full credit to the author of the book. I'd then "Share" the programs with fellow Vic 20 enthusiasts free of charge. If the author doesn't like it, he'll let you know.

pitcalco · Post by **pitcalco** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:55 am

DigitalQuirk wrote:Here's what I'd do. I'd type them in, making sure to give full credit to the author of the book. I'd then "Share" the programs with fellow Vic 20 enthusiasts free of charge. If the author doesn't like it, he'll let you know.

That is likely pretty safe, anyway.