Hi all --
Verlag Bautz, a German printing house, has a totally cool website, the "Kirchenlexicon." It invites contributions, but is also clearly marked with a copyright (2001). My question...are direct translations of entire articles, even when credited, fair use? I'm pretty sure that they are not -- I know they wouldn't pass muster at the university copy center...
Opinions?
J Hofmann Kemp, off for the summer
Julie Hofmann Kemp wrote:
Hi all --
Verlag Bautz, a German printing house, has a totally cool website, the "Kirchenlexicon." It invites contributions, but is also clearly marked with a copyright (2001). My question...are direct translations of entire articles, even when credited, fair use? I'm pretty sure that they are not -- I know they wouldn't pass muster at the university copy center...
Opinions?
J Hofmann Kemp,
Generally they would retain their copyright, but the fact that they invite contributions does open the question of who owns the copyright, the site owner or the author. Putting a copyright notice is not essential to establishing a copyright. That concept was taken from a uniquely U.S. law, and I believe that the U. S. has since abandoned that requirement.
Fair use would only apply when you are using something for personal or research purposes. Posting your translation to Wikipedia would not fall in that category.
If you translate something, even illegally, that gives rise to a whole new copyright, and if the owner of the original language work wants to use your translation, he must have your permission.
One thing to keep in mind is that it the work that is copyright, not the information in the work. It does not matter that the copyrighted source may be the only source for the information. Rewriting the material in your own words instead of translating it would not be a breach of copyright. The distinction between rewriting and translating could be a matter of some considerable debate!
Eclecticology
It would be a very unusual fact packed article that would be fair use under those circumstance. The cool creative aspect of the articles is what is covered by copyright and not subject to fair use. Like a phone book is covered by fair use...
Hi all --
Verlag Bautz, a German printing house, has a totally cool website, the "Kirchenlexicon." It invites contributions, but is also clearly marked with a copyright (2001). My question...are direct translations of entire articles, even when credited, fair use? I'm pretty sure that they are not -- I know they wouldn't pass muster at the university copy center...
Opinions?
J Hofmann Kemp, off for the summer
[Wikipedia-l] To manage your subscription to this list, please go here: http://www.nupedia.com/mailman/listinfo/wikipedia-l
Julie Hofmann Kemp wrote:
Hi all --
Verlag Bautz, a German printing house, has a totally cool website, the "Kirchenlexicon." It invites contributions, but is also clearly marked with a copyright (2001). My question...are direct translations of entire articles, even when credited, fair use? I'm pretty sure that they are not -- I know they wouldn't pass muster at the university copy center...
Opinions?
I would say that the act of translation involves a substantial amount of rewriting and that for a fact-based article it probably becomes an entirely new piece if it's translated properly.
But if you translate a piece of fiction into another language doesn't it still remain under the original copyright? You can't translate Mien Kampfh into English and then claim that you own it...
Kurt Jansson wrote:
You can't translate Mien Kampfh into English and then claim that you own it...
I hope "Mein Kampf" is not the most famous German book title - but maybe it is :-(
Kurt
If somebody is so bored with life that he has to translate all of "Mein Kampf" he's probably desperate for credit, and deserves all he can get. Under the general international rule of life + 50 it went into the public domain on January 1, 1996.
Eclecticology
Ray Saintonge wrote:
If somebody is so bored with life that he has to translate all of "Mein Kampf" he's probably desperate for credit, and deserves all he can get. Under the general international rule of life + 50 it went into the public domain on January 1, 1996.
According to the Wikipedia article on the book, the copyright (owned by the state of Bavaria) doesn't expire until December 31, 2015. Life plus 70 years? Or do the Brazilian clones figure into this? ;)
-- brion vibber (brion @ pobox.com)
Under the general international rule of life + 50 it went into the public domain on January 1, 1996.
According to the Wikipedia article on the book, the copyright (owned
by
the state of Bavaria) doesn't expire until December 31, 2015. Life
plus
70 years?
Yes, I think that's what German copyright law says.
Or do the Brazilian clones figure into this? ;)
You never know.
Kurt
Brion VIBBER wrote:
Ray Saintonge wrote:
If somebody is so bored with life that he has to translate all of "Mein Kampf" he's probably desperate for credit, and deserves all he can get. Under the general international rule of life + 50 it went into the public domain on January 1, 1996.
According to the Wikipedia article on the book, the copyright (owned by the state of Bavaria) doesn't expire until December 31, 2015. Life plus 70 years? Or do the Brazilian clones figure into this? ;)
-- brion vibber (brion @ pobox.com)
Life + 70 is the rule for the European Community. The general world-wide rule which applies here in Canada is life + 50. There is no obligation for any country to give greater copyright protection to a foreign writer than it would give to its own citizens. One very minor and very technical point, is that copyrights expire on the first day of the calendar year following the relevant anniversary, however that anniversary might be calculated. ... this may be a concern to the kind of person that would miss a New Year's Party just to work on a translation of "Mein Kampf".
Eclecticology
Ray Saintonge wrote:
One very minor and very technical point, is that copyrights expire on the first day of the calendar year following the relevant anniversary, however that anniversary might be calculated. ... this may be a concern to the kind of person that would miss a New Year's Party just to work on a translation of "Mein Kampf".
Greenwich mean, or local time? Uhhh, not that I'm interested in that particular work, but in general...
-- brion vibber (brion @ pobox.com)
wikipedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org