According to the Public Domain list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in_public_domain James Blish's Star Trek novelisations enter Public Domain in 2026, but do they if Star Trek is still copyrighted?
Star Trek Public Domain??
- Thread starter Ogrebear
- Start date
Perhaps it means that anything unique to the novelizations is public domain, though I doubt it.
It could be a case, where the author didn't renew the copyright depending when it was published.
Public Domain Overview
copyright.byu.edu
I would think the It's a Wonderful Life precedent would hold here -- while the film itself is public domain, the underlying story is not, and the musical score is copyrighted separately, so the film isn't free to use.
Personally, I think copyright terms are too long. A return to a maximum of 56 years seems appropriate to me. And work for hire should not exist.
Personally, I think copyright terms are too long. A return to a maximum of 56 years seems appropriate to me. And work for hire should not exist.
U.S. law gives published works from 1964–1977 a copyright term of 95 years from the date of publication. This assumes the copyrights were filed correctly in those pre-registration days. You can see the 1967 copyright in the first volume (link).
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