Re: Neat summary of Google strategy

From: "Mary E Tyler"

>> This would be an argument for the deep pockets, but it is 
>> in
>> those very early years that a writer struggles [and you
>> argue this below] and may do their best work. They might 
>> not
>> be able to afford renewal of copyrights and that would 
>> again
>> let others - big business - benefit; a twist on the 
>> argument
>> of artistes i nthe music areas.
>>
>> Perhaps someone can structure an argument that will 
>> actually
>> offer a way ahead on term; all solutions otherwise are
>> creative ;-); but we need definitive reasons.
>
> The fee doesn't have to be huge. It can be nominal: $30 
> every 15 years
> isn't so much to ask. My pockets are empty and it won't 
> break me.

But this is not about you, or any individual, this is 
recognising that one has to cover all possibilities; as you 
have agreed in another strand of the thread the US is still 
not truly a Berne country. And, you see, the US can damage a 
lot of other nations and copyright owners by thinking only 
in terms of the US. It is domanace of the net which today 
gives a massive power over the observance of copyright.

But you do not address my point. What is the argument that 
makes $30 every 15 years a better system? Who does it help? 
Who does it harm? And what public good is benefitted by it?

There are only two arguments I have come across that offer 
any view of that sort. The idea of 'natural rights' making 
copyright an unacceptable privilege - though I have yet to 
be shown the philosophical backing for that view; and the 
belief that anyone else's creation may be used by that 
person for their own derivative. To me neither seems to have 
merit.

>>
>> What you say here really sums up beautifully another
>> confusion in argument. In the commercial area the arrival 
>> at
>> ability or saleability is a professional business. The
>> 'Daisy Ashford' phenomenon is a rare one.
>
> I don't understand your reference.

I'm sorry. It is an old matter and may be UK only. Daisy 
Ashford was, I think, eight when she wrote 'The Young 
Visiters' (sic). It was regarded as so precocious that it 
was published - spelling mistakes an'all - and was very well 
received.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_ashford

>
>> Everybody [almost] can write, and many do that for
>> themselves or a small audience without wanting a 
>> commercial
>> side - and often without the time or ability to go 
>> further.
>> But many authors themselves decide that not everything 
>> they
>> write should be published - and changes in basic 
>> copyright
>> may cause difficulties here, possibly with unintended
>> consequences.
>
> Examples?
>
>
> dej

The main point of unintended consequences is that one 
doesn't know till afterwards that it has had that 
consequence. A non-book one might be the joy at getting 
cheap goods from the Pacific Rim countries, only to find it 
has removed US dominance of the world and it now looks as 
though China may well motor events i n the future! Or the 
great rush to wealth (without working) through the financial 
casino, only to find the likelihood of a depression to be 
staring us all in the face.

If you are asking about not wishing to publish some of their 
works, then there are many famous novelists in particular of 
whom that is known.

As with all matters that are wide ranging in coverage and 
effects it is necessary to be inclusive rather than 
selective. IP fits that bill. A particular term or set of 
conditions must be relevant to all constituencies within the 
relevant part of IP.

Joseph Harris 



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