This HTML conversion is copyright 2009 John Alan Elson all rights reserved.

The original book, published by Greenburg was Copyright 1951. For works published from 1923 to 1963 registration was required and gave Copyright protection for 28 years. Registration could be renewed for another 47 years, later extended to 67. Such renewal had to occur during the 28th year. If it was not renewed, the work entered the public domain at the beginning of the 29th year.

The Stereo Realist guide was published in 1951. The original Copyright term ended at the end of 1979. Continued Copyright protection required a renewal in 1979. The U.S. Copyright office online catalog contains renewals from 1978 on and no record of such a renewal exists.

This means that The stereo Realist Guide fell into the public domain on Jan 1, 1980.

This is actually not that unusual, it was pretty rare for the copyright on out of print books published before 1963 to be renwed, and by 1979 The Stereo Realist Guide was long out of print!

About the Stereo Realist Trademark:
The David White company, later renamed Realist Inc. and changed back to David White company in 1990, was the original holder of the Stereo Realist trademark. It is in that context that the trademark was used in the Stereo Realist Guide. The trademark expired and in 2001 was registered by John J. Zelenka. The mention of the trademark here has no connection with the current trademark holder and is niether a disparagement nor an endorsement of any products sold under such trademark presently or in the future.