Is The Short Story: The Most Dangerous Game in the public domain? If not, who is the current publisher?

Question

Basically, could anyone go and use it for a movie or a tv show or just redistribute it? Is it free for anyone to use for any purpose? To edit too? This is in the US, but what about other countries too? There are several publishers who have published this book. As well as stating that: it is public domain.

It is also on Google Books, How do you explain this? I think it might be a unique situation, I've read up on the 70 years law, but I think it might have expired early or something like that.

Thanks for the help,

If it isn't, who is the current publisher?

Thanks Again,

Answer 1

If the story has since been adapted, it's usually the studio that owns it then. That one has been adapted several times.

Answer 2

I don't think I have the answer to your question but I just wanted to add something to the discussion. This is my absolute favorite short story of all time. Last year, I was telling my teenage daughter about it and I had her search in on the 'net and read it that night. Just a few weeks later her literature teacher used the story as an example and my girl was excited to be able to tell her teacher she knew the story. They then engaged in a discussion about the possible meaning to the ending...whether the tables were turned and the general was hunted or if he was just killed right then and there. As for your question, when my daughter was looking for it, she found in with no problems on a free website. I first read the story in an English textbook titled "Highways" that is approximately 37 years old...I still have it but couldn't find it to get the publisher's name. I know a lot of classics available for free online as e-books are in public domain while others are not but are made available free by the publishers as a form of public goodwill while they still produce hard copies for purchase. This is such a tricky area of law so I'm curious as well. I didn't realize this story was so old as to be possibly public domain. I wish I could be of more help but I am glad to see such a great story still has fans!

Additional Info: Okay, I have found that the original publisher in the twenties was a magazine called "Collier's Weekly". It was published in January of 1924. It was made into a movie in 1932. It has since been the basis of numerous other movies and television shows, many of the same name. It was also published as "The Hounds of Zaroff". It is still under copyright as the original has been renewed by the author's estate. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Public domain books and other writings - what can you do with them http://www.publicdomainsherpa.com/public-domain-books.html

When a book (or any written work) enters the public domain, you can copy and ... Jane Austen's 1816 novel Emma became a Gwyneth Paltrow movie in 1996.

http://thenostalgialeague.com/olmag/connell-most-dangerous-game.html

A careful search of copyright records has shown that this story is in the Public Domain.

A radio dramatization of this story can be found on the KWTNL Old Time Radio page.

To discuss this story, please join us on The Message Boards in The Library forum.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120917/02245520401/what-public-domain-why-letter-written-1755-is-still-covered-us-copyright-law.shtml

A few years back, we wrote about a fantastic research report that suggested for all of the claims that the song "Happy Birthday" remains covered by copyright, there was a lot of evidence that it was still in the public domain. After all, the music is from the 1800s and the lyrics were published in books starting in 1912. And, of course, as the handy dandy chart notes, works published prior to 1923 aren't supposed to be subject to copyright. But.. it's not always that simple: Robert Brauneis notes that the lyrics to “Happy Birthday” were published in 1912 in The Beginners’ Book of Songs and again in 1915 in The Golden Book of Favorite Songs. (The music is much older.) Yet according to the current owners of the presumed copyright in “Happy Birthday,” these early publications were unauthorized. They argue that the first authorized publication of the lyrics to “Happy Birthday” occurred in 1935 and copyright runs from that date. Digitizing either the 1912 or 1915 volumes or singing the lyrics to “Happy Birthday” as found in the books would therefore infringe on the copyright first secured in 1935. Yes, you read that right. If you digitized books from 1912, you could infringe on a copyright from 1935. That is not a functional system.But that's not the only crazy case. Hirtle highlights another example of what he believes may be the oldest work still covered by US copyright... and it's from 1755: Probably the oldest work still protected by copyright in the U.S. is a letter from John Adams to Nathan Webb written on Sept. 1, 1755. Copyright in the Adams material was transferred to the Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) in 1956. In that same year the MHS published a microfilm edition of the correspondence and registered the copyright with the Copyright Office. Copyright was renewed in 1984, which means that copyright in the Adams letter will expire on Jan. 1, 2052, almost 300 years after it was written. There are a number of other crazy examples as well. Take, for example, arguments over whether or not a work is "published" or "unpublished." This can matter, especially for older works, since there were different copyright rules depending on the publishing status of the work. But, the definition of "publication" isn't always clear, especially for pre-1978 works (see the example above). And that can create bizarre examples like the one below from an actual court case: An allegedly infringed work reportedly has a title page stating that it was published. Furthermore, the defendants also claim that the work was distributed to more than 55,000 people. Nevertheless, the work is registered as an unpublished work with the Copyright Office. This is because the work was never offered to the public; instead, it was only to senior officials and leaders of the Mormon Church. Similarly, he notes that merely broadcasting a TV show wasn't considered "publishing." So TV shows like the first episode of Star Trek don't have their copyright clock start until nearly a dozen years after it was first broadcast, because that's the first time it was "offered for sale" rather than just broadcast. Reading through all of the examples, it's a great lesson in how screwed up copyright law is today, especially with regards to the public domain -- a sadly neglected part of American culture.

http://thepublicdomaingame.com/post/20024035429/the-most-dangerous-game-1932

27 Mar 2012 - The Most Dangerous Game (1932) Last weekend “The Hunger Games" ... an ornate fortress, the island's only structure, owned by an eccentric ...

The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell is public domain► 15:09► 15:09

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkPON71LAsg

Today, January 23rd, 2007, is the 1 year anniversary of the release date of Alex Kravitz's career ...

The Most Dangerous Game - Richard Connell | Feedbooks

www.feedbooks.com › Public Domain › Fiction › Action & Adventure

9 Jan 2011 - "The Most Dangerous Game" features as its main character a big-game hunter from New York, who becomes shipwrecked ... Public Domain >.

Richard Connell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Connell