It was in fact published in England, but that's not the issue, really. What matters is where you publish your derivative work: In the US, there's no problem. Copyright law in the UK is odd in some respects (the King James Bible is still in copyright over there, for reasons that escape me) but it doesn't matter as long as your publisher is American.
Also, quoting from a play can be done in small quantities even for plays that are within copyright under fair use provisions--and adapting a storyline is generally possible without restriction, since storylines are not copyrightable.
I had to study copyright law heavily when I began gathering historical material on the Old Catholic Church to get it back into print for current adherents, and that's where this all came from.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-08-13 03:55 pm (UTC)Also, quoting from a play can be done in small quantities even for plays that are within copyright under fair use provisions--and adapting a storyline is generally possible without restriction, since storylines are not copyrightable.
I had to study copyright law heavily when I began gathering historical material on the Old Catholic Church to get it back into print for current adherents, and that's where this all came from.