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I would like to know the legality of producing a solutions manual for say a mathematics textbook. I intend to work through the problems in the book, recording the steps with explanations on how I solved the problems. From my research on the topic, a solutions manual that was not created by the textbook manufacturer can be considered derivative work.

I intend to share the solutions with others after I am done. Is it legal if I share it for free? What if I sell it?

How close can I reference a problem from the textbook in my solutions manual. Does page, chapter, title, author and edition referencing scream copyright violation? What if I say this solution is "similar to problem**** in **** 4th edition"?

If I change the wording of the problem will that make it legal? I ask this because of SAT guides and sample problems from various publishers, each problem is very similar, but all the publishers haven`t been sued to the ground both by the CollegeBoard and the other publishers, what are they doing that keeps them legal? Also, I`ve come across online forums that have "homework help" forums where people post homework questions they need help with. For the most part, the problems listed are copied word-for-word. The problem is solved with explanations by one or many users, is this legal? How so? Gray area?

Let`s say the problem in the textbook is as follows:

Problem 17
"Mary is at the train station. If the train is 60 miles away and travels at 25 miles per hour, how long will Mary have to wait for the train to arrive?"

If I phrase a similar question in the my solutions manual:

This problem is very similar to Problem 17 in ****, this is how I solved it:

"Lily is at the airport on a nondescript island near the Arctic Circle. The plane she is waiting to catch is in Planktonville, Antarctica located a distance of 20 miles away. If the plane travels at a speed of 6000 miles per hour, how long will it take the plane to reach Lily"

<insert solution and explanations>

As you can see, ultimately the approach to solving the problem is identical, am I legal?

Thanks

i would get a written legal opinion - it comes in handy if/when you are sued.

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

I`d say that your latter example of posting a question on a forum is a gray area. The person providing the answer the problem has no wrongdoing because they are only responding to the person who posted the problem. My guess is that a publisher can go after the person who publishes the problem on a forum if they want, but it may hurt their business.

However, if you are copying a problem in your own solutions manual, that problem is the intellectual property of the author. If the idea for the problem isn`t yours originally, then yes, it is a derived work and it can be considered plagiarism.

Best bet, contact a lawyer for advice on how you can proceed. Chances are, you will have to get in contact with the publisher and/or author to get permission to move forward. It is possible that you may have to pay royalties as well.


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Motivation for Entrepreneurs
Entre-Propel.com

Thanks for the advice.

A question for you MattThomas, could you elaborate on "copying a problem." Is it still a copyright infringement if I take inspiration from a problem? What can a publisher catch me on? Wording? Names? Units? Values? After all if you think about it logically, if one was to examine each chapter in each textbook ever made on the same material, you would come across at least one problem that was similar to another, isn`t that illegal then?

I`ve Googled for specific problems before and I`ve come across similar problems that solve for the same thing but with different wording and values, I`m pretty sure they`re taken verbatim from another different textbook. Is it legal because they are different works from different publishers?

Where is the illegality stemming from, the fact that I am referencing a published problem from a textbook that is similar, or because the problem itself is similar? The latter sounds ridiculous.

How would this be different if someone were to give someone their homework after solving the problem from a textbook they own, isn`t the book their property and thus don`t they have the right to do what they want with it? If for instance that person asked for money for their homework would they be trafficking stolen goods :)?

Apologies for the disorganized nature of my reply, lots of different questions popping up.

You`re hitting on a lot of gray areas in your questions...but your questions are still very good ones nonetheless.

I suppose all work is in one way or another, derivative in that we are all taught  mathematics, algebra, etc... So I`d imagine that a certain amount of influence is implied. We`re not born mathematicians.

That said, if an author puts together a certain problem, lets say it is a calculus problem (no wording, just a straight equation), in efforts to demonstrate a certain point about the nature of calculus, even if you utilize different numbers in your own work, you are using this author`s underlying lesson as expressed through the equation.

Now, will you get caught? Who knows? It probably depends on how good you are at making the influence abstract.

The question really isn`t would you get caught, but would you risk it? Best bet, as patentandtrademark suggested, get some legal advice to know the specifics of what you can and cannot do. There are probably some defined limits to what you can publish without needing to pay royalties.



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Motivation for Entrepreneurs
Entre-Propel.com