H.G. Wells's Copyright Set to Expire

I have served as Webmaster for the H.G. Wells Society since 2002. One of my responsibilities is to forward email inquiries to the society secretary for consideration and distribution. I’ve seen a lot of different kinds of inquiries through the years, but for a time, one appeared more frequently than all others: copyright.

The copyright protecting H.G. Wells’s work in Britain and the EU was once so obscure and confusing to the general inquirer that a special webpage was expanded around 2005 to better address the issue, and was inspired partly by a controversy I was involved in regarding film versions of The War of the Worlds that were in production around that time.

While copyright on much of H.G. Wells’s work has expired in the United States, for the EU and other territories throughout the world, it remains the date of the author’s death plus 70 years (through the end of the calendar year). In Wells’s case, of course this is 31^st December 2016, since he left us on 13th August 1946.

Until now, filmmakers have needed to obtain permission from the Wells estate, via agents A.P. Watt, to release films in protected regions. While the motion picture world is the big money customer, I have seen other inquiries for things as unusual as The War of the Worlds-themed gambling machines!

Beyond the motion picture world, other kinds of presentations, such as musical versions or plays were allowed through obtaining dramatic rights.

Of course H.G. Wells’s oeuvre remains a popular font of ideas for filmmakers, whether they intend to make movies or TV shows based directly on his books, or simply borrow characters for a 21^st century romp.

While I personally have rarely been satisfied or impressed by the intellectual content of the recent Wellsian reboots and palimpsests, as we approach the end of the calendar year of Wells’s death, I think it’s appropriate to say, for better and worse, I expect things will get interesting...

Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and a US Liberty Loan Prussian Spike Helmet Prize, 1918

It is sometimes said that while the rest of the world goes to war for territory or to protect an empire, America goes to war for souvenirs. It's a cynical notion, clearly, though still manages to raise a smile here and there, especially among those for whom collecting historical militaria is a serious hobby.

As I'm sure we're all aware by now, nearly a century ago, the United States declared war on the Kaiser's Germany. At that time, the USA was a minor player on the world stage, despite having the most impressive industrial base of all. When congress did declare war in April 1917, the idea, at least according to President Wilson, was to 'make the world safe for democracy,' and acknowledging all the subtexts that go along with that grand-sounding idea.

Interestingly, the American army was not quite ready for combat on the scale the Great War demanded, both in terms of men and material. But as is usual in times of crisis or need, Americans rose to the challenge.

In 1913 - and about four years before the US 'threw its hat in the ring' of the Great War, the 16th Amendment to the US Constitution imposed an income tax on both individuals and corporations. Despite the influx of money to government coffers, made even greater by wartime tax increases, various drives and fundraisers were common and served very useful purposes, and none was more famous than the series of four Liberty Loans.

These loans, or bonds, were usually sold by Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and by the war's end, 2.3 million had been bought, with a total of $354 million owed to the people of the United States.

Various prizes were awarded to stimulate interest in the campaigns. One such item was this patriotic-painted Prussian enlisted spike helmet.

Captured from a Prussian soldier, the original black leather was repainted with patrioticAmerican red and white stripes across the crown, fore to aft, while the front visor was adorned with white stars on a blue field. A late 19th century braided horsehair cavalry plume was added to the spike top. 

The example pictured, sold by Manion's in September 2004, included the original leather liner. Special attention was paid to the detailing, meaning that the gilt Prussian eagle wappen (front plate), round spike base, and front visor trim were removed for painting and reapplied. 

A 'rare bird,' as we said in those days!