Morning Coffee – 10 June 2019
Here are a few stories to read this Monday morning.
- Penguin is publishing a 1957 novel and claiming that its copyright was never registered. The author’s estate disagrees.
- Jordan Peterson might refuse to admit it, but the singular they has been around since the 1300s.
- Blendle is ending its pay-per-article service.
Comments
Robert Nagle June 10, 2019 um 7:00 pm
IANAL, but my guess is that the copyright was published in the US without formalities and that the original copyright was not renewed. So I’m guessing that Penguin is in the right here. But 1)both editions cost $10 for an ebook, which is outrageous and 2)this should be a clear signal to Project Gutenberg (or some other organization) to start digitalizing it and offering it for free.
It would be different if Penguin were selling the public domain ebook with a new preface at something like 3.99, but why are they selling it at the same usual high price?
Robert James Nagle June 10, 2019 um 7:03 pm
MY SUGGESTION The author’s estate should lower the price of their edition to $1.50 and write a letter to NYT thanking them for the free publicity….