Projekt Gutenberg-DE
Encyclopedia
Projekt Gutenberg-DE is a collection of German language literary texts, distributed via the web and on CD-ROM. It is run by a small publishing company called Hille Partner, run by Gunter Hille, and its web presence is hosted by the weekly magazine Der Spiegel
.
The name is based on Project Gutenberg
, a project that tries to make as many texts available for as many people as possible for as long as possible. Hille was the second person to ask Michael Hart
, founder of Project Gutenberg
, to use the name and was granted permission.
Projekt Gutenberg-DE claims copyright
s on all its products, although the legal basis for such claims are disputed. Courts in several jurisdictions with similar copyright laws have found that mere sweat of the brow does not generate a copyright. (See for instance Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.
, which in turn seems to have built on Feist v. Rural.) Furthermore, the project only makes its etexts available gratis in a form in which readers have to browse the text page by page. This seems to fall short of Project Gutenberg's lofty bar of accessibility.
In 2004, the German project was at the center of a controversy, because it had started running a proofreading website based on the Distributed Proofreaders
software, without mentioning that the resulting books would not be as free
as those of the American project. People started proofreading in good faith, only to find out later that the fruits of their labour would receive a copyright claim and be sold, without remuneration going to the volunteers.
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
.
The name is based on Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
, a project that tries to make as many texts available for as many people as possible for as long as possible. Hille was the second person to ask Michael Hart
Michael S. Hart
Michael Stern Hart was an American author, best known as the inventor of the electronic book and the founder of Project Gutenberg, a project to make ebooks freely available via the Internet...
, founder of Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
, to use the name and was granted permission.
Projekt Gutenberg-DE claims copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
s on all its products, although the legal basis for such claims are disputed. Courts in several jurisdictions with similar copyright laws have found that mere sweat of the brow does not generate a copyright. (See for instance Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.
Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.
Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp., 36 F. Supp. 2d 191 , was a decision by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, which ruled that exact photographic copies of public domain images could not be protected by copyright in the United States because the copies lack...
, which in turn seems to have built on Feist v. Rural.) Furthermore, the project only makes its etexts available gratis in a form in which readers have to browse the text page by page. This seems to fall short of Project Gutenberg's lofty bar of accessibility.
In 2004, the German project was at the center of a controversy, because it had started running a proofreading website based on the Distributed Proofreaders
Distributed Proofreaders
Distributed Proofreaders is a web-based project that supports the development of e-texts for Project Gutenberg by allowing many people to work together in proofreading drafts of e-texts for errors.- History :...
software, without mentioning that the resulting books would not be as free
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
as those of the American project. People started proofreading in good faith, only to find out later that the fruits of their labour would receive a copyright claim and be sold, without remuneration going to the volunteers.
External links
- Website of Projekt Gutenberg-DE
- Heise News article in German, with the 2004 controversy discussed in the forums
- German etexts in the US-based Project Gutenberg
- DigBib.Org, a free archive of German literature
- Nemesis-Archive of free German socialist literature
- An archive of German literature, based on Projekt Gutenberg-DE ebooks