[Sca-cooks] Need (international) copyright advice

[Terry Decker]

You'll be operating under the Berne Copyright Convention to which the U.S. 
is signatory.  That said, you are not reproducing the facsimile.  The 
facsimile is copyrighted.  The original work is not, but you can't get hold 
of the original to produce your own facsimile.  Any facsimile reproduction 
is a de facto violation of copyright.  You will need the owner's permission 
for facsimile reproduction.

The transcription, essays and notes are the property of the copyright 
holder(s).  You may only copy small portions under the fair use provisions 
of the copyright laws without the copyright holder(s) permission(s).

Your translations of the original work are your work, presented under your 
copyright.

Bear


> Forgive the cross-posting; I'm trying to query all the people who are
> most likely to have an answer for me.
>
> I just received a book that I ordered as a Christmas gift for myself.
> It's "Regalo de la vida humana", a 16th century health and cooking
> manual.  The author was an official of the Spanish Kingdom of Navarre.
> He did not complete the book before his death, and it was never
> published until a few years ago.  The original manuscript -- the only
> existing copy -- belongs to the National Library of Austria.  They
> gave a high quality facsimile to the government of the Spanish
> Province of Navarre, which commissioned the book I received today.
>
> It's in two volumes.  The first volume is a facsimile.  The second
> contains a transcription, as well as essays and notes on the work.
> There are two copyright notices on the book: one for the National
> Library of Austria and one for the Government of Navarre.
>
> My question is this: if I translate some of the recipes and post those
> translations on email lists and/or my website, am I violating
> copyright?  (I'm assuming that I will NOT post the text of the
> original Spanish.)  This is rather different than other period
> cookbooks I've worked from, as those were published in period, and
> there are digital and print copies available from many different
> sources.  In this case, there is only one possible source for the
> material.
>
> I am in the U.S., but as both copyright holders are European, I assume
> that EU laws and regulations apply.  I would appreciate knowledgeable
> advice on this matter.  Perhaps I'm worrying about nothing, but I'd
> rather know for sure.  At present, I only wish to translate and test
> recipes, but I could envision eventually teaching a class at Pennsic.
> I'd certainly want to know where the legal lines were drawn before
> preparing a handout.
>
> -- 
> Brighid ni Chiarain, OL
> MKA: Robin Carroll-Mann