95
votes
When does the copyright on Isaac Asimov's works expire?
There are various terms for US copyright and when the works published in that situation nominally expire.
However, since the 1980s every 20 years a new copyright extension act that includes all works ...
- 5,331
82
votes
Accepted
When does the copyright on Isaac Asimov's works expire?
This question is covered by the Asimov FAQ:
All of Asimov's work, fiction and non-fiction, was under copyright at the time of the Good Doctor's death. Under current U.S. law, the copyrights for his ...
- 11k
78
votes
Accepted
When will Harry Potter enter the public domain?
Objectively the answer to "will it enter public domain" is yes. According to The Duration of Copyright and Rights in Performances Regulations Act (1995), the Harry Potter books will enter the public ...
- 718k
66
votes
Accepted
How is the Mary Poppins Sequel legal when the author denied a sequel?
Disney were keen to make a follow-up to Mary Poppins as early as 1982 but the movie ended up in a glorious legal mess because of legal clauses on both sides that required creative agreement from both ...
- 718k
65
votes
Accepted
How can these unlicensed books about Middle Earth get published legally?
Although these books do seem to fall somewhere in the crack between outright infringement and fair usage David Day seems to be relying on a number of legal figleaves to protect himself:
The books ...
- 718k
62
votes
Accepted
Is it legal to use the word "hobbit" for a race of halflings in an original work?
"Hobbit" is a trademarked term by the Tolkien Estate. There is "prior art" in that the word didn't come out of nowhere, but Tolkien created a distinct identity for them. Quoting ...
- 239k
21
votes
When will Harry Potter enter the public domain?
When you extrapolate trends in copyright legislation, then Harry Potter won't ever enter the public domain, because it's not older than Mickey Mouse.
For several decades the Walt Disney Corporation ...
- 3,755
13
votes
Accepted
Who owns the Star Wars Legends books?
Disney own the full rights, via their purchase of Lucasfilm
Star Wars: Heir to the Empire is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are ...
- 718k
12
votes
When will Harry Potter enter the public domain?
It's complicated
The duration of copyright governed by the country of origin. This is the country in which it was first published (for books) or released (for films) or, if published/released ...
- 5,087
12
votes
Accepted
Does Conquest's album "Frozen Sky" reference the "Forgotten Realms" books?
The image in question contains two cropped and heavily re-coloured pictures composited together; 'Red Wizard' by Fred Fields and 'Tower' by Ciruelo Cabral
I've found a copy of the exterior of the CD ...
- 718k
11
votes
When will Harry Potter enter the public domain?
Other answers have covered the current copyright situation.
It's important not to assume this will apply in future though. The Sonny Bono Act was explicitly enacted to prevent Disney's copyrights ...
- 4,834
10
votes
Accepted
When will books by Edgar Rice Burroughs enter the public domain?
In the US
According to this source, for works published between 1923 and 1963 where the copyright has been renewed, copyright expires 95 years after the publication date. From Wikipedia, "...
- 2,609
8
votes
Accepted
When will copyright on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson book series expire?
Some number of years years after he dies
In the USA, that number is 70. However, copyright will last in other parts of the world for different times.
Some countries subscribe to the rule of the ...
- 5,087
6
votes
Would it be legally possible to release a new Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit movie series, which instead of butchering the books actually honors them?
Generally, when someone buys the "movie rights" to a work, it's an exclusive deal, though often limited to a set period of time.
So, to do something like this, one would need the cooperation ...
- 18.3k
4
votes
What is the original work used for the album cover of Endless Power by Conquest?
While searching for the image of the cover to use in the question, I happened across a page where someone had tracked uses of the original artwork. (Warning: that site contains some NSFW material as ...
- 39.1k
4
votes
Has Tolkien's estate ever sold the rights to adaptations of any Tolkien works?
Yes
The 1981 BBC radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings was licensed directly from Allen & Unwin, not the Middle-earth Enterprises
The idea of doing The Lord of the Rings as a dramatized radio ...
- 96.1k
3
votes
Have the writers of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds credited Ursula K. Le Guin?
Yes Kurtzman has commented on the story previously. But it was regarding the Kelpian that caused the burn in STD not this Strange New Worlds episode.
Nitpicking Nerds'...
- 11.5k
2
votes
When will books by Edgar Rice Burroughs enter the public domain?
I notice there are some Barsoom books on Gutenberg in Australia if you are still interested: http://gutenberg.net.au/searchresults.html
- 525
2
votes
Accepted
What is the original work used for the album cover of Endless Power by Conquest?
Echoing SQB's excellent answer, this is a cropped, rotated and re-coloured version of the picture Draco Rex by artist Ciruelo Cabral.
I've spoken with the artist (via email) and he is unaware of the ...
- 718k
1
vote
Who currently owns the rights to the The 39 Clues movie?
As of 2015, Universal owns them, alongside most other Scholastic rights. But in 2015 - way later than the 2013 article you quoted. Deadline.com reported on the deal:
Universal Pictures has inked a ...
- 25.7k
1
vote
Has Tolkien's estate ever sold the rights to adaptations of any Tolkien works?
It is interesting to note that once upon a time, the Tolkien Estate was much more generous with the license than they have been Post Jackson. For instance , ICE received the okay to publish ...
- 43
1
vote
Is it true that the Daleks have to appear in every season of Doctor Who?
I'm going to try and address a number of points that have been discussed.
To summarize, There is no definitive evidence that the Daleks are legally required to appear in every season. This implies ...
- 13.4k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible