Your question confuses me a bit, as it does not seem to make a distinction between different laws in different countries. For the most part, life+x terms do not come into consideration when looking at pre-1989 works in a US juristiction. So, you question was: "What is the status of 1909-1923 books?" There is no definite, unquestioned answer. However, if you'll allow me, I'll present a generalization, as far as I understand it. And of course, IANAL. In the US, a number of different groups have used the pre-1923 cut-off to determine public domain status for many years now. I believe this is what is used by the PG clearance team, based on legal advice they have received. It's been mentioned on this list that there was some legal descion that suggests that there may be some items in the time span you mention that could still be covered by copyright, but I don't know any more than that. In the UK, I can't pretend to know the laws in much detail. I would say it's pretty certain that 1909-1923 books would fall under a life+x term, although whether it would be life+50 or life+75, I couldn't say. As always, the only way to ascertain the status of a book, for the purposes of adding to PG, is is to submit a PG copyright clearance request. Andrew On Thu, 14 Sep 2006, Norm Wolcott wrote:
I believe PG has been clearing books published pre 1923, even if published in London. Now I read about another case saying all books pre 1909 may be free of copyrigiht. I do not know if this will increase or decrease the pool of books. I believe that all books published after 1923 in England are still subject to copyright unless they fall into the 75 year death rule. What is the status of 1909-1923 books?