Public rights : copyright's public domains /

Greenleaf (Univ. of New South Wales, Australia) and Lindsay (Univ. of Technology, Australia) tilt the axis on the study of copyright by placing the public domain front and center, giving it renewed attention. They argue that the public domain is not a "single concept." Rather, it is a set of "public rights." To support that they flesh out 15 public domain categories, analyzing how treatment differs by country or region. Categories include the use of works under compulsory or voluntary licensing as well as categories created through copyright law. The comprehensive international focus gives this work a welcomed panoramic scope. The authors provide a detailed table of international legislation, directives, and treaties. Most helpful is the comparative analysis of national laws. Greenleaf and Lindsay build on the work of scholars such as David Lange, L. Ray Patterson, Pamela Samuelson, Jessica Litman, Ronan Deazley and Lawrence Lessig. Readers will find a detailed index and valuable bibliography. The book is a good complement to the recent work by another Australian scholar, James Meese, Authors, Users and Pirates (CH, Jan'19, 56-2088). Highly recommended for faculty and students of copyright law and for reference collections. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Chris LeBeau, University of Missouri