Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 14/09/2005 17:26, Harold R. Holmyard III wrote:

> Dear Dave,
>
>  
>
> > I'm surprised to hear that BDB and Gesenius might still be under copyright.  I
> > suppose the copyright on Gesenius may have been renewed by somebody, but
> > looking at the shelves of my local Christian bookstore, it would appear that
> > most anybody with a scanner and a truckload of paper can print BDB...
> >    
>
> HH: Yes, it is copyrighted. Look at the publication page in Gesenius' 
> Hebrew Grammar. It says:
>
> All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, 
> stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any 
> means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, 
> without the prior permission of Oxford University Press
>
>  
But this work dates from 1910, even in its final revision, and so is 
surely now out of copyright. BDB certainly is. OUP's claim of copyright 
on Gesenius is legally null and void, at least in the UK which was the 
original place of publication.

> From 
http://www.is4profit.com/busadvice/copyright/basic_copyright_facts/2_ownership_duration_copyright.htm: 


>       How long does UK copyright last?
>
> Copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (including 
> a photograph) lasts until 70 years after the death of the author. 


The named authors of this edition of Gesenius (the one at 
http://www.biblecentre.net/ot/ges/gr/hegr-Index.html) are Gesenius who 
died in 1842, Kautzsch who died in 1910 (see the last part of the 
Translator's Preface), and A.E. Cowley. So the question is, when did 
Cowley die? The answer is at 
http://www.britac.ac.uk/fellowship/archive.asp?fellowsID=1575: 1931. So 
GKC must be out of copyright at least here in the UK.


--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/



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