Here are some examples: 1. The 2006 Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition of The Complete Novels of Jane Austen, all of which are in the public domain, includes the following warning on the copyright page: The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.5 2. The widely assigned Oxford Anthology of English Literature contains the blanket notice, “Copyright © 1973 by Oxford University Press, Inc.”6 3. An edition of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility published in 2006 by Cambridge University Press contains the following notices: © Cambridge University Press 2006 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.7 4. Oxford University Press’s World’s Classics edition of Jane Austen’s Emma contains a more detailed notice, following the better practice of claiming copyright only in the newly added portions of the book, but then includes the following misleading warning: “No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographic rights organizations.”8 A reasonable reader would be forgiven for thinking that, unless she can find some specific exception in the law, she needs permission from Penguin, Oxford, or Cambridge to reproduce part or all of the classic works included in these anthologies and reprints. In fact, the opposite is true almost all of the underlying works can be copied freely, even in their entirety, without asking or paying anyone.9 This is not due to a “statutory exception,” nor is it “expressly permitted by law” (per se) it is the upshot of the work no longer being protected at all. RLI 276 22 Copyfraud and Classroom Performance Rights: Two Common Bogus Copyright Claims ( C O N T I N U E D ) SEPTEMBER 2011 RESEARCH LIBRARY ISSUES: A QUARTERLY REPORT FROM ARL, CNI, AND SPARC
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