copyright issues for contemporary poets

[Robert De Lossa]

The publication of an unauthorized translation of a copyrighted work would
be the same thing as the publication of an unauthorized copy of the
original copyrighted work, since the copyright generally covers the
original material, all translations, and all conceivable formats for the
material to appear. Thus, you need to determine whether or not the poems
you want to translate are copyrighted or in the public domain, and, if
copyrighted, who holds the copyright (sometimes the publishers do,
sometimes the author). Then you must secure permission from the copyright
holder to make the translation. The legal instrument (usually a signed
letter will suffice) that conveys the right for the translation should also
specify the conditions for publication (whether one edition or unlimited
editions), recompense (if there is to be any; many original publishing
contracts with authors in the West would stipulate what compensation will
be for reprints and translation; contractualization in former communist
countries is spotty), and who will hold the rights to the translation (you
or your publisher, or even the original publisher or author). Be prepared
for authors in the former communist countries who are not sure whether they
hold the copyright to their published work. You may need to determine it
from the copyright notice in the published work itself or else establish
your legal rights on the basis of letters from living authors (or the heirs
or assigns of deceased ones). East European publishing houses (and most
authors, although they are slowly learning the sad truth) usually assume
that everything published in the West will make a mint and that they should
get part of it. Convincing them otherwise is difficult, so be prepared with
a realistic assessment of where the translation will appear and what the
financial circumstances surrounding its publication will be (i.e., how much
it will cost to get into print and how much--or little--money anyone will
see from it).

Best,

Rob De Lossa, HURI Publications

p.s. Since the bulk of Kushner's and all of Rein's published work is post
'76, it most likely is covered by international copyright. Also, and n.b.,
since Kushner has been translated before, you have the added step of making
sure his previous English-language translator and publisher don't have
exclusivity contracts.


>---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>Sender:       Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list
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>Poster:       Ona Renner-Fahey <renner-fahey.59 at OSU.EDU>
>Subject:      copyright issues for contemporary poets
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Does anyone know whether there are copyright issues for translating poems by
>contemporary poets? (The particular poets I have in mind are Evgenii Rein
>and Aleksandr Kushner.)  Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
>
>Thank you,
>
>Ona Renner-Fahey
>The Ohio State University
>
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____________________________________________________
Robert De Lossa
Director of Publications
Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University
1583 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138
617-496-8768; fax. 617-495-8097
reply to: rdelossa at fas.harvard.edu
http://www.sabre.org/huri/

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