Copyright Law (was Re: (Stoufers) Children's Books To Be Reissued)

[joym999 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 14414

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., heidi.h.tandy.c92 at a... wrote:
> heidi's copyright law lesson of the day:
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., bassettlover at a... wrote:
> > First of all, doesn't evry single book published in the US have 
to 
> > have a copy in the Library of Congress?  
> 
> Yes, as a matter of law. Deposit in the collections of the Library 
of 
> Congress of published works is mandatory under section 407;  [snip] 

> to ensure a more 
> rapid deposit of a work the Library needs promptly, the Register of 
> Copyrights may make a written demand for the required deposit at 
any 
> time after publication.
> 
> If the required deposit is not made within 3 months of the demand, 
> the person or organization obligated to make the deposit is liable 
> for a fine of not more than $250 for each work plus the retail 
price 
> of the copies; if the refusal to comply is willful or repeated, an 
> added fine of $2,500 may be incurred.


Thanks very much for clarifying that, Heidi.  I just want to point 
out that, as a frequent user of the Library of Congress, the fact is 
that some publishers do not send copies of their publications to the 
LOC, even though it is required by law.  Librarians do not have 
magical powers (except of course for Madam Pince), so if the 
publishers do not send their books it is difficult for the LOC to 
even know a work has been published, and even if they do know their 
ability to enforce the law seems to be limited -- like most 
government agencies they suffer from budget limitations, 
incompetence, inefficiency, etc.  I once asked for an issue of the 
periodical only to find out that the publisher, which was Columbia 
University Press (who should know better) had not sent the Library 
any copies of that periodical for over 9 years and no one at the 
Library had noticed.

Which brings us back to the main point (quickly before the Moderators 
send me one of those off-topic howlers) that if anyone wants to have 
a copy of Stouffers books in the next few months to subject it to 
public scorn they will probably have to buy it.  While it is possible 
that some libraries will order it, the lag time between the time a 
library orders a book, receives the book, places it in circulation, 
etc., is usually pretty long, although a small library can usually do 
these things quicker than the LOC, which takes about a year for this 
process.

I will just have to go to the bookstore and take notes.  The only 
thing I dont like about these big new B&N/Borders/etc. bookstores 
with the comfy chairs and coffee bars (aside from the fact that they 
run small bookstores out of business) is that they dont have copy 
machines.

--Joywitch