I am adapting a novella from Viet Nam into a stage play and am trying to find information on clearing the copyright. The author has been dead for over fifty years. His book was never published in the US that I can find. Do you know of a website or legal source where I could find out about this? Thanks.

All Answers To Questions

1. Typical duration of legal copyright protection: Normal protection provided by the Berne Convention is life of the author plus fifty years from death, with the following exceptions: Film, cinematographic work: 50 years from the making of the work, or if made available to the public within the 50 years, (i.e. by publication or performance), 50 years from the date the author first makes the work available to the public. Anonymous works: 50 years from the date made available to the public. Artistic works, such as photographs and applied art: At least 25 years from creation. Duration will always run from January 1st of the year following the event indicated. In all cases, individual national laws can allow additional protection over and above the terms of the Convention. The Convention sets out what authors can realistically expect. There are also exceptions allowed for countries bound by the Rome Act. 2. What happens when copyright expires? When the term of copyright protection has expired, the work falls into the public domain. This means that the work, has effectively become public property and may be used freely. It should be stressed that actual duration will vary under national laws, and you should check the laws of individual countries before you attempt to use a work. http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p10_duration Permission: http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p13_permission

You should contact the publisher of the original novella with this question, since it might still be copyrighted under Vietnamese law (as already pointed out the periods of copyright vary under different national laws; in Germany, for example copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of an author).