Dave Elman Hypnotherapy copyright and fair use

[abbyeagle]

Hi,

I am keen to hear what others have to say about copyright on trance inductions by authors such as Dave Elman Hypnotherapy. Elman died in 1967. Usually copyright expires 50 years after the authors death which means there is still 8 years to go.... unless someone reasserts copyright....

Anyway i would like to include a Dave Elman induction in a hypnosis manual but am not sure whether i can copy it word for word. What do others have to say on this topic?

Kind regards

[Don]

Since Elman was an American, his works fall under U.S. copyright law. I don't know what the law is in Australia, but "50 years after death" has nothing to do with it.

The term of copyright for a particular work depends on several factors, including whether it has been published, and, if so, the date of first publication. As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years.

Any copyright existing on or before January 1, 1978, lasts for 28 years from the date it was originally secured. The proprietor of such copyright shall be entitled to a renewal and extension of the copyright in such work for the further term of 67 years.

My guess is that the words of Mr. Elman are still under copyright by his publisher. So there are several things you could do:

1) Publish anyway and hope that your sales are so small that the owners of Elman's copyrights aren't going to waste their time on you.

2) Contact Elman's publishers and ask for permission to quote his work.

3) (And this is my favorite and my suggestion for you) Create your own original induction that follows the form and concept of Elman without copying him. After all, why should someone buy your work if you're just copying the original? Why not get the original with all of the original information?

[skip]

I would do both 2 nd 3.

And I would when attributing Elmans Induction make the suggestion that the reader also pick up a copy of Elman's book. When you put that together and submit it to Elmans publisher as how it will appear, they would probably like it.

A spoon full of sugar ....

skip

[Merlin]

like Don said:
2) Contact Elman's publishers and ask for permission to quote his work.

3) (And this is my favorite and my suggestion for you) Create your own original induction that follows the form and concept of Elman without copying him. After all, why should someone buy your work if you're just copying the original? Why not get the original with all of the original information?

of course, if you understand Elman's induction, then writing your own will be easy

[Poodle]

Have you actually heard recordings of Dave Elman working? I have some and just sort of shake my head wondering how in the world he ever put anyone into a hypnotic trance. We have many lovely inductions today derived from the Elman Induction. Would they do? Can you create some on your own -- maternal and paternal?

There is a book on Merlin's FAQ "Hypnosis: A Comprehensive Guide" by Tad James. He covers three hypnotists -- Erickson, Estabrooks and Elman. There is about only one small paragraph where Elman is in quotes.
A couple of years ago I bought an induction and it is copyrighted that combines Elman with Erickson. Since it is copyrighted, I cannot include it in my own teaching material.

I cannot think of a hypnosis/hypnotherapy training in the USA that does NOT teach Elman and, in fact, in some that is the basic induction taught. Some people just happen to be real Elman people.

We have a few members in Australia -- TaffyE who is a Forum Leader and also Snoopy who is a Senior Member now. You might ask them for their opinions.

Obviously you can see I'm voting for #3.

I LOVE the name Abby. It makes me want to just give you a great big welcome hug. Please stay and post more.

Stay well,
Pood :)