Copyright of I burn Paris

[Bora Chung]

Thank you all for your advice and interest in this matter. Janice: I will
verify the first edition and will contact Kopipol (great information!!)
Here's what I have so far for those who might be interested:

The 1929 Polish version says the copyright holder is Ernest Flammarion but the
publishing company is "Roj," a Polish publishing company in Warsaw. I contacted
Groupe Flammarion and Roj but neither has replied yet. I also emailed Felin for
the French edition... yesterday. I'll wait.

The novel was originally published in installments in the French
journal "L'Humanite." My 1929 version only has the first 2/5 or so, probably
because the novel was still being published in installments and wasn't finished
yet. (This is why I think this must be the very first edition, along with the
little note about Ernest Flammarion.)

As far as Polish goes, there are 1957 and 1974 versions, so I'm wondering if
there could be more than one copyright holders for different versions. I
haven't tracked down the publishers of these versions yet. I have no idea how
to track down the Russian / Yiddish / Czech publishers. Also, the Russian
version I have is incomplete or abridged, so for translation purposes it's less
interesting. The Russian translator is apparently somebody named T. Ordon.
(Anybody ring a bell?)

The further I go, the more confusing it gets.. But I shall continue my quest.
Best,
Bora Chung
Slavic Lang. and Lit.
Indiana University
bochung at indiana.edu


Quoting Janice Pilch <pilch at UIUC.EDU>:

> Dear Bora,
>
> I think the first thing you should do is verify that
> the Polish edition of 1929 is the first publication of this
> work. The place and date of first publication are the single
> most important factors in the process--it helps to be certain
> of this at the beginning. I notice that there was also a
> Yiddish version of 1929, so it's important to know which came
> first.
>
> If the original publisher still exists, it is very likely
> that they hold the copyright, or at least they should be able
> to tell you who holds it if it was transfered. If they no
> longer exist, the rights are probably held by their legal
> successor, or in the absence of the legal successor, by the
> Polish government.
>
> There is no easy way to track down copyright holders. The
> publishers of the other editions may or may not know who
> holds the copyright today. Best to start with the Polish
> publisher if it exists.
>
> But there might be a short-cut. Try contacting KOPIPOL, the
> Association of Copyright Collective Administration for
> Authors of Scientific and Technical Works, in Poland. They
> handle collective management of rights, and might be able to
> track down the current copyright holder. They will want as
> much info from you as possible on the work, its first
> publication, and also exactly what you want to do with it.
> Russell is right that usually copyright holders want to deal
> with publishers of translations, not the translators
> themselves. But you might at least learn from them who owns
> the copyright today.
>
> The website for KOPIPOL is: http://www.kopipol.kielce.pl.
>
> Best regards, Janice
>
> ---- Original message ----
> >Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2005 09:34:38 -0500
> >From: Bora Chung <bochung at INDIANA.EDU>
> >Subject: [SEELANGS] Copyright of I burn Paris
> >To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
> >
> >Dear SEELANGers,
> >I'm trying to get the permission to translate Bruno
> Jasienski's 1929 novel "I
> >burn Paris (Pale Paryz, Je brule Paris)" The original is in
> Polish (I believe)
> >and there are also French, Russian and Czech versions. Does
> anybody know how to
> >track down the copyright holders of any of these versions?
> >Bora Chung
> >Slavic Lang. and Lit.
> >Indiana University
> >bochung at indiana.edu
> >
> >-------------------------------------------------------------
> ------------
> > Use your web browser to search the archives, control your
> subscription
> >  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web
> Interface at:
> >                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
> >-------------------------------------------------------------
> ------------
> ----------------------------------------
> Janice T. Pilch, Assistant Professor of Library Administration
> Acting Head, Acquisitions, Slavic and East European Library
> Librarian for South Slavic Studies and Slavic Languages & Literatures
> University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
> 1408 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801
> Tel. (217) 244-9399  E-mail: pilch at uiuc.edu
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>  Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
>   options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
>                     http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------