On Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 01:53:12PM -0700, James Adcock wrote:

People who have been following this issue probably know the Lawrence "Seven Pillars" [["Lawrence of Arabia"]] as being perhaps the best known screwed up copyright issue around -- well, perhaps excepting Mickey Mouse.

I have in my hands, to my surprise, a copy of T. E. Lawrence "Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph" purporting to be a copy of the 1922 Oxford Text - that which famously was "printed but not published but rather privately distributed" - and yet here it is being "published" in America.

In PG parlance, the question is whether this is an unpublished manuscript (Rule 2) or something published prior to 1923 (Rule 1). If the 1922 edition is found in several libraries (i.e., use Worldcat), and there were at least 100 copies distributed, then I would probably allow this as Rule 1. If not, then Rule 2 would apply, and PG wouldn't take it unless we had a letter of permission or other evidence. But I'd also look for additional details/evidence. Our eBook would need to match the 1922, not a later edition. The 1922 Paris edition of James Joyce's Ulysses was somewhat similar, perhaps (American publication was a few years later). Michael and I made a Rule 1 determination, after extensive research. This included detailed comparison of our eBook (which might have been based on a later edition) to a 1921 print edition in the rare books library at UNC Chapel Hill. 1000 copies were printed in 1922, so Rule 2 didn't apply. All that said, in the Lawrence case I think what we have are a lot of reprints of the 1922 edition. Sounds like only 8 copies were made originally, and one was deposited in the Bodleian. I'd want to see the TP&V of the 2004 reprint, if that was used for an eBook: Publisher: Fordingbridge J. and N. Wilson 2004 It's certainly possible that this is in the public domain in the UK (based on the author's 1935 death date), but not in the US (because the 1922 edition is treated as an unpublished manuscript, rather than a published item). I think what you have is, essentially, a pirated edition in the US based on the 2004 UK publication. Among indications: - unknown publisher - where is "Lexington, KT"? (KY is the state code for Kentucky) -- Greg

ISBN 9781463587376

Final pages stating: Made in the USA, Lexington, KT, 15 October 2012

And what would normally be the copyright page stating simply:

=====

First paperback edition.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,

including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or

retrieval system, except in the case of excerpts by a reviewer, who may

quote brief passages in a review.

Printed and manufactured in the United States of America

=====

Where a publisher isn't even identified in the book, but is given on Amazon as being "CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform"

My question is simply whether anyone knows anything about this? Is this just a "pirate" edition that Amazon has picked up unknowingly? Or has some newer copyright analysis been done by someone somewhere?

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