Copyright only protects books for a certain amount of time, unless renewed by the copyright holder. What does this mean? A book under copyright cannot be copied or reproduced in any way without permission from the author, or whoever holds the rights to it. However, once that copyright expires, the book may be re-written, translated, turned it into a screenplay or other derivative work, have new characters added, or anything else a writer can think of, without needing permission!
Before embarking on such a project, it is always important to ensure the entire work is no longer protected under copyright. Taking a character from a public domain novel, such as Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, is usually a safe option. However, the Sherlock from the BBC show Sherlock is still protected under copyright. Using the oldest available version of the text is also safest, since some annotated or republished titles might have a new copyright. When embarking on a project like this, it is important to give credit to the original author, even if it’s no longer required to seek permission.
If looking for a book in the public domain, check out the display in the rotunda. For examples of books using public domain characters, stop by the historical fiction genre display.
