copyright

["Morris Krok" essence@xxxxxxxx]

 From Morris,

     When it comes to the copyright law I am very liberal. From a
practical and economic point of view it is only of value to bestsellers or
books which have a steady sale year after year, even if the quantities are
not large.
 I have been writing books since 1958, books which only had a limited sale
partly because it was difficult to obtain distribution from South Africa.
Therefore, if anyone reproduced my books, I was only too happy. One of my
books was produced in Spanish and when someone from Germany showed an
interest I gave him my consent.
   Accordingly when it comes to reproducing out of print books I have no
scruples especially if thirty or more years have elapsed since they were
last printed.
    Before I reproduced Herb Tyson's XyWrite Revealed, I wrote to the
copyright holders Windcrest or Tab Books (they could be part of McGraw Hill)
for permission. They did not bother to reply. An out of print book such as a
computer manual containing programs that are no longer supported, have in
fact no commercial value. I printed 100 copies of which I sold about 30. Do
you for a moment think that the original publishers will sue me or do you
think it pays them to become involved in litigation. I can understand
persons suing the tobacco companies because of the sums claimed (lawyers
hoping to make big bucks in the process). In the same vein one should be
able to sue liquor companies and those firms who produce junk, adulterated
foods that make people obese and sick long before their time. But if I was
the judge and jury, none of these claimants would succeed because no one
forced anyone of these groups to indulge in these harmful substances.
    My hobby at the moment the reprinting of out of print books - many
of the authors are no longer alive and some of the publishers no longer
exist. I reprint them to keep their useful contents available to anyone who
is interested in the subject matter. Most of the books I reproduce deal with
the ancient science of yoga and those on natural living, but I will also
touch on books that deal with self-help, consciously creating circumstances
and constructive thinking.
    Only now my hobby is starting to pay dividends, one reprint has sold
over 1000 copies and a number others will soon follow suit. How do I
reprint? I do it at home on a Risograph. It has taken over from the old
duplicator with those wax stencils, by scanning the page, producing a master
which allows one to print over five thousand copies at a speed of 6000
copies per hour. In addition to this I have a folding machine and if I am
printing a page too large for it, I fold the sheets by hand in bed as do not
sleep more than three hours at a time. In this way I am kept occupied day
and night and out of mischief.
     So my summing remarks to members of this group and perhaps to the
world at large, do not be neurotic, paranoia and pathetic when it comes to
reproducing out of print books, those lonely, neglected orphans which should
be rescued from ashes and allowed to flower, be seen and heard. It is a
different matter if you have written a bestseller and it is pirated or
someone wants to make a film of it without permission and paying to do so.