Policy

We reprint only what we can show is free or licensed.

Out of print does not mean public domain. Before a book is designed it has a rights file.

Public domain

For United States sales we treat as public domain:

• Works published in the U.S. before 1931.
• Works published in the U.S. 1931–1963 only after a documented failure to renew.

We do not treat a Google Books or Internet Archive scan as proof by itself. We record the first publication year, the copyright page, and the renewal search.

Still in copyright

Twentieth-century titles that have dropped from a publisher’s list are considered only with a written license from the author, heirs, or rights holder. We do not publish orphan works on a guess.

What we add

Introductions, abridgments, notes, covers, and our typesetting are original to the press. The underlying public-domain text remains free for anyone else to use.

This page is a statement of practice, not legal advice.