International Copyright question: Publishing a translation of an existing Chinese book

[Guest guest]

Over the last year in Hangzhou I have been amassing a small but growing number

of books for my further personal studies and some perhaps for future

translation endeavors. Would a publisher, translator or experienced author

please give me some feedback on the following simple questions:

 

1. Who owns the rights to a book? The orginal publisher or the author? I guess

the publisher? Are the rights for a translation purchased or does one have to

give a percentage of the overseas sales to the original publishing house?

 

2. Do you need the blessings of both the author and the publisher to publish

a work overseas? If the author is deceased should you make an earnest attempt to

contact the family?

 

3. Before going to a foreign (here i refer to the non-chinese) publisher

with a translation project should the translator get all the green lights

himself or is this usually the job of the translator's publisher?

 

4. Do most translators contact a publisher before beginning a work to

discuss whether the work is marketable?

 

I appreciate anyone's time and comments on the above:

 

Mark Schwartz

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Mark,

 

You'd better check with the US Copyright office and I'd suggest the Nolo Guide

to Copyright Law. Even if you translate a book from one language to another,

you can be sued. Everything is protected by international copyright law. Check

the law with a professional (Copyright lawyer), not the list in a matter as

important as this.

 

 

 

Mark Schwartz <insighthealing wrote:

Over the last year in Hangzhou I have been amassing a small but growing number

of books for my further personal studies and some perhaps for future

translation endeavors. Would a publisher, translator or experienced author

please give me some feedback on the following simple questions:

 

1. Who owns the rights to a book? The orginal publisher or the author? I guess

the publisher? Are the rights for a translation purchased or does one have to

give a percentage of the overseas sales to the original publishing house?

 

2. Do you need the blessings of both the author and the publisher to publish

a work overseas? If the author is deceased should you make an earnest attempt to

contact the family?

 

3. Before going to a foreign (here i refer to the non-chinese) publisher

with a translation project should the translator get all the green lights

himself or is this usually the job of the translator's publisher?

 

4. Do most translators contact a publisher before beginning a work to

discuss whether the work is marketable?

 

I appreciate anyone's time and comments on the above:

 

Mark Schwartz

 

 

 

Shopping

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