Once books become part of the public domain, anyone can sell a digital, audio or print edition on Amazon. Rival publishing houses can issue new print editions, and scholars can publish new annotated versions and interpretations. When the first Copyright Act was passed in the United States in 1790, the maximum term was 28 years. Publishers often stop printing books that aren’t selling, but still retain the copyright, so no one else can release new editions. Once the books enter the public domain, a wider variety of new editions become available again, filling in a hole in the public and cultural record.

Source: New York Times December 29, 2018 17:01 UTC