Re: CPED

Dear Ven. Yuttadhammo,

> I wonder if anyone can tell me what the copyright status is on the the
> Concise Pali-English Dictionary of A.P. Buddhadatta Mahathera?

I'm not sure what the current copyright status is but it does raise some
interesting questions in knowing the criteria for what does and does not
fall within the public domain. My hard copy of the dictionary is a 1968
reprint of the 1958 revised Second Edition. The First Edition seems to have
been originally published in 1949. I don't know if a Third Edition was ever
published.

Regarding copyright issues, a few weeks ago I came across a rather
interesting report called _The Information Commons: A Public Policy Report_
(dated June 2004) which can be read/viewed at:

http://www.fepproject.org/policyreports/infocommons.preview.html

I think it has some relevance to the problems of digitally reproducing and
making freely available Pali texts, translations, and other Pali resource
materials for the general public. The report also refers to Project
Gutenberg as an example of the information commons. This makes me wonder to
what extent the corpus of Pali literature can be safely placed within the
"information commons" without infringing on copyrights. One question I have:
Does Vol. 1 (completed in 1948) of the CPD fall within the public domain now
that nearly 60 years have passed?

Best wishes,
Jim

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