Hello Navako


Thanks for the reply. I've been away for the last few days, so only
just read your message.

What you say is interesting. One question i still have is, does it
matter what country the digital file originated in? If the original
thing was pirated, is it illegal to use that in another country. Is
this receiving stolen goods? (Incidentally, this issue was raised by
a number of bhikkhus who were very scrupulous about such matters;
however, i understand that it is not actually against the Vinaya to
receive stolen goods, although it is obviously not the done thing).

This raises broader issues of copyright that i'm also interested in.
I am discussing with Rod Bucknell and others about starting a early
Buddhist studies website. This will contain essays, concordance
tables, translations, etc.

Rod has had many of the early suttas that are available in Sanskrit
transcribed in digital format. These were originally published in
journals, etc., by Waldschmidt and others, and, despite their great
importance, are inaccessible to the majority. So we want to make
these available for everyone on the web. But copyright is obviously
an issue. The stuff is not, has never been, and will never be of any
conceivable commercial value. Many of the editors are now dead. It
may be difficult to contact the journals, some of which may no
longer exist.

Does anyone have any advice about how to obtain copyright permission
for such materials?

in Dhamma

Bhante Sujato

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, "navako" <navako@...> wrote:
>
>
> Bhante,
>
> Re: the old PTS dictionary:
>
> > By the way, the group might be interested to know this. In
response
> > to a request from Ven Analayo, i contacted the PTS regarding
> > electronic versions of the PTS dictionary (Rhys Davids/Stede).
There
> > are various digital versions, and questions were raised
regarding the
> > copyright status. The PTS informed me that a digital version was
made
> > avilable for the Uni of Chicago website, but only for this, and
all
> > other digital versions are in infringement of copyright. They
said
> > the dic would enter the public domain on the 70th anniversary of
> > Stede's death, that is (if i remember rightly) 2028.
>
> This depends entirely on (1) what country you're in, and (2) what
edition of
> the book you're using. In Australia, for example, the book became
part of
> the public domain 50 years after publishing (of any given
edition),
> irrespective of the year of the author's demise.
>
> E.M.
>
>
> --
> A saying of the Buddha from http://metta.lk/
> Get your Dhamma Books from http://books.metta.lk/
> Should a person perform a meritorious action, he should do it
again and
> again; he should find pleasure therein: blissful is the
accumulation of
> merit.
> Random Dhammapada Verse 118