Client Challenge
A mid-sized Indian academic publisher released a newly formatted edition of Jane Eyre on Amazon and IngramSpark. Within a week, the listing was taken down due to an automated copyright claim. The takedown disrupted sales, blocked preorders, and raised concerns over legal exposure.
Although Jane Eyre is a public domain work, several modern annotated or illustrated editions use restricted content unknowingly. The publisher had no centralized proof of rights status and risked delays in reinstatement or, worse, permanent delisting.
The company approached Write Right to conduct an urgent Public Domain (PD) validation and assist in reinstating the title across platforms.
Strategy and Implementation
Write Right’s editorial legal team followed a two-step verification and documentation process to establish legality:
1. Public Domain Audit
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Verified that Jane Eyre entered the public domain globally under the Berne Convention (originally published in 1847).
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Compared the submitted manuscript line by line with the original 19th-century text to ensure no copyrighted adaptations or abridged versions were included.
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Cross-referenced illustrations and forewords against the publisher’s in-house assets to confirm originality.
2. Rights Documentation and Log Preparation
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Created a Public Domain Log including publication date, source edition, author death year, and jurisdictional clearance for India, US, and UK markets.
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Attached an Affidavit of Editorial Independence, affirming that all added introductions, typesetting, and formatting were original to the publisher.
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Submitted this log to both Amazon KDP Legal and IngramSpark’s Content Review teams for reinstatement.
Results
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The title was fully reinstated within 72 hours on Amazon and IngramSpark.
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No penalties or copyright warnings were applied to the publisher’s account.
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The documented PD log became a permanent compliance record, reducing future claim risks for all subsequent classic editions.
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The publisher replicated Write Right’s PD protocol across 14 additional reprints, ensuring smoother uploads and uninterrupted sales.
Impact
By systematizing copyright verification, Write Right transformed what could have been a reputational and financial setback into a learning milestone.
The publisher later adopted Write Right’s “PD Shield Checklist” for all future classic projects, cutting administrative delays by nearly 60% and strengthening trust with global distribution platforms.
Lesson
Public domain doesn’t mean public confusion. Write Right’s structured, legally sound documentation ensures that publishers can confidently publish timeless classics without fear of takedowns or disputes.
