Copyright on Gandhi’s books expires on Jan 1

Any publisher — or individual — will be able to reprint Gandhiji’s autobiography and other literary works, without paying a royalty fee to the Navjivan Trust from next year
By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Thursday, December 18, 2008 (Ahmedabad Mirr0r)

Gandhiji’s autobiography, My Experiments with Truth, has been published in 20 Indian languages and 25 foreign languagesIn an effort to popularise Gandhian philosophy, the Navjivan Trust will put the books written by Bapu in the public domain from January 1, 2009.

The move will enable any publisher — or individual — to reprint Bapu’s works, including his autobiography, without paying a royalty fee to the Navjivan Trust.Mahatma Gandhi has written three books, My Experiments with Truth, History of Revolution in South Africa and Hind Swaraj, all of which will be put in the public domain. According to Indian laws, heir/heirs of a book can claim copyright and royalty for 60 years after the author’s death.

The Navjivan Trust, which is heir to Gandhiji’s property and literary works, has decided not to extend the copyright term of the three books.“The books will be in the public domain from January 1, 2009,” the managing trustee of Navjivan Trust, Jitendra Desai, said. “We don’t want copyright hassles to hamper the reach of Gandhian philosophy among people. The books written by Gandhiji should be available to everyone.”

The Navjivan Trust receives more than Rs 20 lakh as royalty fees every year from Indian and foreign publishers, who reprint Gandhiji’s books. The trust has been giving away part of the earnings to the Harijan Sevak Sangh in New Delhi. Gandhians in the city, meanwhile, feel that the trust should rethink the move to not extend the copyright term of Bapu’s books.

They say once the books are in the public domain, anyone can publish them after tampering with facts. Gandhians also say that the price of Bapu’s books will go up because private publishers, unlike the Navjivan Trust, will not offer subsidies. Earlier, the Visva-Bharti University in West Bengal had refused to give up rights of Rabindranath Tagore’s works on similar concerns. Meanwhile, though the copyright of Gandhiji’s books will expire next year, some publishers — especially the ones in Delhi — have started releasing reprints in the market. Gandhiji’s autobiography, My Experiments with Truth, has been published in 25 foreign languages.