Copyright Query: English to Russian translation

[Joseph Peschio]

At 06:54 AM 5/28/01 -0500, you wrote:

"what are the regulations, restrictions, etc.,
that pertain to the translating  of English-language books published in the
United States, England, Canada, etc., into Russian? Is there a similar
pre-1973 cut-off date?"

The 1973 law applies to books published in America and Britain as well;
i.e., if a book was published before 1973 anywhere, one isn't required to
purchase rights in order to publish it in the Russian Federation.  If it
was published after 1973, you have to get in touch with the agent that
handles the particular author (or, if deceased, his/her estate) and
negotiate a contract for publishing rights.  Needless to say, these rights
go for comparatively miniscule sums given the state of the Russian book
market.  To find out what agent handles a given author, just contact
his/her American, Canadian, Australian or British publisher.  Most major
Western literary agencies now have representatives in Moscow, but one must
be VERY careful to verify that the Russian office represents who it says it
does.  Naturally, this is all the Russian publisher's headache, not yours
(unless you're planning on publishing it yourselves).  Best of luck, Joe

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