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British copyright law and T. E. Lawrence's writings
On
1 January 1996, British copyright in T.
E. Lawrence's writings was extended (in some instances revived)
because the duration of an author's copyright was increased in
Europe from 50 years after death to 70 years after death. As a
result:
-
British copyright for writings by Lawrence first
published in his lifetime and during the 20 years following
his death (i.e. up to the end of 1955) expired on 1 January
2006.
-
British
copyright for writings by Lawrence first published between 1 January 1956 and 1 January 1996 will extend
for 50 years from first publication or to 1 January 2040,
whichever is earlier.
-
British
copyright for all writings by Lawrence unpublished on 1 January
1996 will expire in 1 January 2040, whether or not they have
been published in the meantime.
Under these
rules, a large amount of Lawrence's published writing went out
of British copyright on 1 January 2006.
Note, however:
-
Where a work contains prefatory or editorial
material by another author, that writing is protected separately.
For example, the letters by Lawrence in David Garnett's 1938
edition of The Letters of T.E. Lawrence went out of
copyright on 1 January 2006, but Garnett's editorial
commentary and notes will remain in copyright until 70 years
after his death.
-
Where a text is
jointly authored and the authorship of individual sections is
not defined, copyright extends for 70 years from the death of
whichever author dies last. Thus, for example, British copyright
in The Wilderness of Zin will last until until 70 years after
the death of Leonard Woolley, Lawrence's co-author.
Which writings by
Lawrence went out of UK copyright on 1 January 2006?
Major works:
Crusader Castles
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
(1926 subscribers'
abridgement)*
Revolt in the Desert
The Mint
*NB. US copyright
law is not
aligned with European copyright law. The 1926 subscribers' abridgement
of Seven Pillars will remain in copyright in the US for
considerably longer. Note also that the fuller 1922 'Oxford'
text of Seven Pillars was not published until 1997. The
source texts will remain in copyright until 1 January 2040.
Translations:
Collected editions of minor writings:
Contributions to periodicals including:
Army Quarterly
Round Table
The Times
Daily Express
Sunday Times
Observer
The Landmark
Spectator
Minor writings including:
The 1911 Diary
The Advance of the Egyptian Expeditionary
Force [contribs. By TEL]
Preface to the 1921 Leicester Galleries exhibition
catalogue of Kennington's Arab Portraits
Blurb for
Sturly
Introduction to
The Twilight of the Gods
Introduction to
Travels in Arabia Deserta
'Myself' - obituary published in the Evening
Standard
Collections of letters:
Letters to Bruce Rogers
More Letters to Bruce Rogers
The Letters of T. E. Lawrence, ed.
D. Garnett [TEL text]
T. E. Lawrence to his Biographer Robert
Graves [TEL text]
T. E. Lawrence to his Biographer Liddell
Hart [TEL text]
Letters to Viscount Carlow
Eight Letters from T.E.L.
Shaw-Ede
The Golden Reign [TEL text]
Genius of Friendship [TEL text]
The Home Letters of T. E. Lawrence and
his Brothers
Other writings:
Numerous Lawrence letters appeared in autobiographies
and other books by third parties published before the end of 1955.
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