copyright research

1. 92

   DzyMsLizzyposted 5 years ago

   Hi-
     I'm wanting to quote (perhaps in full) a very short poem, but I cannot find but the barest trace of information on the poet, John Chipman Farrar, who lived from 1895 - 1974.
     He wrote a good number of poems, and included in his "Songs for Parents" collection is included the piece I'd like to quote.
     However, it is a very difficult piece to track down--I've searched Yahoo, Google, etc... and found it only listed in the "look inside" feature of one anthology on Amazon, and I can't find anything else to indicate whether or not the particular poem has passed into the public domain.
   
   It's such a fun poem, and a perfect companion piece to the particular hub....I can't even find it published online to leave a link.
   
     As far as "Googling" his name, there are apparently a good many other, more recent people notably an Australian musician, with the same name.
   
     Can anyone suggest where else to search for this information?
   
   Thanks

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   1. 90

      Aficionadaposted 5 years ago in reply to this

      When you are researching a keyword, it is possible to exclude certain terms from the search.  In this example, you could use the keyword "John Chapman Farrar" (use the quotation marks); and then to exclude terms, use the minus sign:    -Australia, -musician. You can also narrow the search by adding more keywords, such as +poet, +1985, or +1974.

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   2. 61

      couturepopcafeposted 5 years ago in reply to this

      You could try the Library of Congress or the U.S. Copyright office for information about heirs.

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2. 88

   WryLiltposted 5 years ago

   Do you know when the poem was published? I believe that if it was before a certain year it goes into the public domain (and I'm sure you'll attribute it correctly on top of that anyway).

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3. 90

   WriteAngledposted 5 years ago

   Copyright lasts until 70 years after the death of the author, therefore the poem is most definitely not in the public domain.
   
   Perhaps one solution is to approach the publishers of the collection and ask whether it would be OK to feature this poem in your hub and on what conditions. It would be useful to send a copy of the hub content and explain exactly what monetary gain (or lack thereof) you anticipate from it, in case fees come into the equation.

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   1. 88

      WryLiltposted 5 years ago in reply to this

      Alright my mistake. I thought that if it was created pre-1930 or thereabouts, that rule didn't apply (although we don't know when it was published.) Must admit I don't know as much as I should about copyright.
      
      Good answer.

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4. 92

   DzyMsLizzyposted 5 years ago

   OK--thank you both.  (and Oh, darn!)  It's a cute poem; perhaps you are familiar with it?  It's titled,  A Serious Omission, and is about a youngster's inability to find any dragons in the zoo.
   
   I might contact the publishers of the anthology--but as to "what monetary gain,"  I've no clue.  If there is a way to separate out which specific monies from AdSense and the HP ad program came from which specific hub, I've not yet learned how to determine that...it's probably not more than a few cents...at my current level.

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   1. 90

      WriteAngledposted 5 years ago in reply to this

      I've not heard of the poem or the poet, although it sounds lovely. Incidentally, I used to sing Puff the Magic Dragon with my girls, but I changed the last verse so that Puff stayed and continued to be a loved companion, because I did not want them to be sad about how it ends
      
      But LOL!, I actually meant the "(or lack thereof)" part of my monetary gain statement! The point is, this is not going to be something that appears in a work for sale. Hopefully, the publisher will (a) agree to the poem being used, and (b) waive any fees for the privilege.

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      1. 92

         DzyMsLizzyposted 5 years ago in reply to this

         LOL--to this day, I cannot sing "Puff the Magic Dragon" without tearing up at the end...  ridiculous, eh?    Good for you for making up a happier ending.

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