copyright

[Dominik Wujastyk]

This is a very vexed issue.  But one thing I can say with reasonable
certainty.  India is not a signatory of the International Copyright
Convention.  The most adverse (for foreign publishers) repercussion of
this is that foreign books can be shamelessly republished in India,
without fear of prosecution.  But the reverse is also true, I suppose.
We can do what we like with Indian publications.  Until India signs the
Convention, there is nothing legal that an Indian publisher
can do.
 
Another point is that a book whose author has been dead for more
than fifty years is no longer covered by copyright restrictions,
unless the copyright is actually renewed by his legal heir(s).  What
this means the case of critical editions of ancient texts I
don't actually know.  I suppose the editor is the "author" since
he is intellectually responsible for producing the book.
 
Dominik