Teheuti
If you read material from the US and UK copyright offices and summaries of recent court cases involving similar situations then the situation is pretty clear. Reading similar court case decisions is one of the best ways to understand what's been upheld and has established precedent.
PKT and the RWS deck is out of copyright in the US (published before 1923). However, any work that re-prints this material cannot be sold in parts of the world that have different copyright laws that extend copyright - i.e., the UK, EU, etc.
In the UK all creators of an original work are deemed copyright holders of the work unless there is a clear, written contract that states otherwise. Copyright extends from the life of the last remaining co-creator plus 70 years.
Random House bought out Rider & Co. They, along with Waite's heirs, assigned the copyright to USGames to uphold. I'm not sure about Smith's heirs - if there are any.
PKT and the RWS deck is out of copyright in the US (published before 1923). However, any work that re-prints this material cannot be sold in parts of the world that have different copyright laws that extend copyright - i.e., the UK, EU, etc.
In the UK all creators of an original work are deemed copyright holders of the work unless there is a clear, written contract that states otherwise. Copyright extends from the life of the last remaining co-creator plus 70 years.
Random House bought out Rider & Co. They, along with Waite's heirs, assigned the copyright to USGames to uphold. I'm not sure about Smith's heirs - if there are any.