Can you check the copyright status of Walt Whitman's poem, "Long I
Thought That Knowledge", and of Siegfried Sasson's poem "Everyone
suddenly burst out Singing"?   Are these poems in the public domain?

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 27 Jan 2005 11:47 PST

rosyb-ga,

Copyright law varies from country to country.  In the US, these two
poems are most likely in the public domain (that is, they are free to
use, and are not protected by copyright in the US).

Sasson was a Canadian poet, and his poem may well still be protected
under Canadian copyright law, regarding any use of the poem in Canada.

Let us know a bit more about your intended uses, and perhaps we can
provide a more definitive answer to your question.

HOWEVER, please note the disclaimer at the bottom of the page -- I am
not a lawyer, and Google Answers is no substitute for advice from a
copyright professional.

pafalafa-ga

---

Clarification of Question by rosyb-ga on 27 Jan 2005 18:09 PST

I am a composer and would like to use these poems for a choral setting
for a composition contest.  As part of my submission, I need a
statement from somewhere saying either that the text is PD or that I
have permission to use it for this purpose.   Thanks.

---

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 27 Jan 2005 18:54 PST

A document printed by the United States Copyright Office should do the trick:


http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ22.pdf
How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work



In particular, page 7 of the document notes the following:


"...the U.S. copyright in any work published or copyrighted prior to
January 1, 1923, has expired by operation of law, and the work has
permanently fallen into the public domain in the United States."


==========

There you have it.  This is the official word from the US government
office that oversees copyright law.  Since both the poems in question
were published prior to 1923, they are both in the public domain as
far as US copyright law is concerned.

Does the above document seem to meet your needs?  If so, let me know,
and I will post the information as a formal answer to your question.

All the best, 

pafalafa-ga

---

Clarification of Question by rosyb-ga on 28 Jan 2005 14:55 PST

That should do it!   Thanks

rosyb-ga,

I'm glad the information I found meets your needs.  I'll repost the
information here, so that it serves as a formal answer to your
question:


-----
A document printed by the United States Copyright Office should do the trick:


http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ22.pdf
How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work



In particular, page 7 of the document notes the following:


"...the U.S. copyright in any work published or copyrighted prior to
January 1, 1923, has expired by operation of law, and the work has
permanently fallen into the public domain in the United States."


There you have it.  This is the official word from the US government
office that oversees copyright law.  Since both the poems in question
were published prior to 1923, they are both in the public domain as
far as US copyright law is concerned.
-----


Please bear in mind the disclaimer I pointed out earlier -- the
information here is not substitute for professional advice.


All the best of luck with the composition contest...let us know how
things turn out.


pafalafa-ga



search strategy -- used bookmarked site for the copyright office